The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan Government are at loggerheads once again. The government has gone on to restrict the PCB to go ahead with the sale of the media rights. It has been made clear to the PCB that every major decision will need approval from the government.
The government has gone on to stall the day to day activities of the PCB’s management committee. So what is at stake? The PSL. The Pakistan Super League which is slated to commence from February 2024 is yet to get its media rights.
This will be a big setback not only to the PSL but also for the PCB. With the tournament fast approaching and the delay in the negotiations for the media rights poses big threat for the tournament. On the other hand, the PCB is also baffled with the thought that they would need the government’s approval for any and every major decision.
The PCB officials received a letter from the government which prohibited the managing committee of the apex cricket council of Pakistan to seek and mandate approval from the government for any major decision.
As for the Media Rights sale of the PSL, the government’s intervention is big setback for PSL. While the government is focussed on long-tern contracts, the PCB is poles apart and is focussed on short tern deals.
With the duo being in loggerheads, around 7-8 media tenders has been halted. This has also resulted in the delay of the issue of the PSL 2024 schedule release. PCB can only issue the fixtures release once the PSL media rights are sold.
