The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will contribute Rs. 100 million to Punjab to host the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
To host PSL 8 matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi, PCB will reportedly pay Punjab’s caretaker government Rs100 million.
In order to make arrangements for PSL 8 matches in the province, the Punjab government first requested Rs900m from PCB. PCB refused to pay the sum, which led to concerns about the viability of PSL 8 in Punjab.
The backup plan that PCB came up with was to move the remaining matches to Karachi, which had previously hosted the league’s first nine games as scheduled.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), intervened in the situation and helped to mend the rift between the two sides.
Najam Sethi, the head of the PCB management committee, spoke with PM Shehbaz about hosting the PSL 8 matches in Punjab as planned. Sources claim that Sethi maintained the PCB won’t cover the increased expense for security measures during his chat with PM Shehbaz. The Punjab government must drop the demand, he continued, or the PCB will be obliged to move matches to Karachi.
The issue was resolved by the intervention of PM Shehbaz. The competition will continue in the province as planned after an agreement between PCB and the Punjab government.
Lahore was hosting its opening game of this season against Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi when this report was filed.
From March 1 on, Rawalpindi will host the majority of (11), matches. The PSL opening ceremony was formerly held in Multan for the first time ever. There were large crowds at all five of the games played in the City of Saints.
