The PCB has axed WAPDA, one of Pakistan cricket’s oldest department teams and current first-class champions, and Sahir Associates from the upcoming domestic season, saying the two departments were unable to comply with the regulations it introduced in June.

The two teams will be replaced by OGDCL and Kingsmen Academy in the President’s Trophy and the President’s Cup, the first-class and the List A tournaments for department teams.

“To enhance the quality of cricket and maintain high standards of domestic cricket, a number of regulations have been shared with the first-class departmental teams,” the PCB said in a statement. “These regulations are [there] in order to run the President’s Trophy and Cup Grade-I events in a more professional manner after reviewing the last iteration of both events.”

These regulations empowered the board to audit the financial transactions between the teams and the players pertaining to monthly salaries and match fees. The PCB also requires the departments to provide year-long contracts to their players and set out guidelines for player accommodation, daily allowances, and fitness programmes.

But it was a threefold hike in the participation fee, to PKR 15 million, that seems to be the thorniest issue, with several rounds of negotiations taking place between departments and the PCB on the matter. Cricinfo has learnt that the other six departments – Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan Television (PTV), Ghani Glass, MIT Solutions, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) – accepted the increase in the participation fee only after the PCB assured them that it would cover production expenses for live streaming, ground rent and the cost of match balls.

A representative from WAPDA told Cricinfo that the department wanted a revision to the increase in the participation fee. But a PCB official said that WAPDA and Sahir Associates were spooked by the board’s decision to supervise players’ contracts, salaries, and match fees. Cricinfo reached out to Sahir Associates for a response.

It is understood KRL also wanted to pull out and had informed their players about the same, citing a hike in the participation fee. But they reversed their decision on Tuesday after a round of negotiations with the PCB.

The axing helped OGDCL and Kingsmen Academy. OGDCL were supposed to play in the President’s Trophy Grade 2 (gold) after finishing at the bottom in the first-class President’s Trophy last season and Kingsmen Academy had missed out on promotion after losing to MIT Solutions in the final.

Each season, the bottom team in the first-class President’s Trophy is relegated to the Grade 2 tournament, and the winner of the Grade 2 tournament gets promoted to the first-class event.