# Ex-Pakistan captain Azhar Ali urges revival of departmental cricket 2026-08-15T19:43:16+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports) Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has called for the revival and protection of departmental cricket, stating it is a "big need" for developing talent in the country. He said the system played a crucial role in nurturing Pakistani players. Ali's remarks come amid concerns over the decline of departmental cricket in Pakistan. The former batter emphasised the importance of restoring the structure to ensure a steady pipeline of cricketers for the national team. ## Coverage - sports.ndtv.com - sports.ndtv.com (2) This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-09-27T06:16:47+00:00. Tags: Azhar Ali, domestic cricket, Pakistan, PCB Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/azhar-ali-calls-for-revival-of-departmental-cricket-in-pakistan/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/azhar-ali-calls-for-revival-of-departmental-cricket-in-pakistan/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/