*Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced to restoredepartmental sports in the country, banished in 2019 under the PTIgovernment. *

According to details, the decision has been made to promote sports andprovide better opportunities to youth to earn their bread and butter fromsports. The PM, in his address to the nation, had promised to reinstatedepartmental sports.

Players had been urging the government to reinstate departmental sports toprovide sportsmen and athletes with better opportunities. Thousand ofsportsmen had become jobless after the previous government decided toabolish departmental sports teams.

On April 18, the newly formed coalition government led by Prime MinisterShehbaz Sharif decided to restore the departmental cricket structure, whichwas dysfunctional as a result of the implementation of the 2019constitution.

The departmental cricket was banished in 2019 under the thenpatron-in-chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Imran Khan, leavingthousands of players and officials jobless.

Sources privy to the development told ARY News that the new government hasalso decided to restore first-class cricketers fired from governmentdepartments under Mani’s tenure as a result of the new PCB constitution.

It is pertinent to mention here that departmental cricket, which has playeda pivotal role in the promotion of sports in the country for the last 45years, ended with former prime minister Imran Khan’s approval in 2019.