PCB, PSL Franchises At Loggerheads Over Financial Obligations

There is a cold war brewing amid the PCB and PSL after a few participating franchises failed to fulfil their financial and sponsorship obligations with the board. According to a report in PTI, the franchise owners of the league had sent a strongly-worded email to the PCB after it called off a scheduled governing council meeting of the PSL on July 28 as the Chairman and CEO of the board left for vacations to the UK.

In return, PSL executive Shoaib Naved said that the franchises who have failed to clear their dues will not be able to be a part of the governing council or any discussions until they cleared their dues. “Shoaib Naved made it clear that the board has decided why should the franchises who had kept their financial matters with the board up to date suffer because of the defaulting franchises,” a reliable source in the board said.

“The PCB has taken the stance that until the franchises don’t submit all details asked for as per contractual obligations they can’t get their shares plus defaulting franchises have to first clear their dues and give all sponsorship details before things can move ahead,” the source said.

The inception of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) took place in 2015 with its first edition being held in the preceding year. The franchise-based T20 league in Pakistan was an instant hit with many international stars becoming a part of it sans the Indian cricketers.

The foreign players in the PSL also advocated to resume ties in Pakistan, citing it is a safe place to play and security is well at place, after teams had feared to play in the country following the bus attack on Sri Lanka in 2009.

The PSL 2020 was at full flow when the tournament was decided to be suspended towards the fag end due to the novel coronavirus pandemic situation. England batsman Alex Hales was rumored to show symptoms of the deadly virus which fuelled the tournament to be suspended.