Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi on Sunday approached Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to negotiate a deed with the Punjab government on the security expenses of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 8 in Lahore and Rawalpindi leagues. Try to break the lock.
The fate of the PSL fixtures in the two Punjab cities – with the final scheduled to be held in Lahore on March 19 – remains uncertain, as caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi insisted that his cabinet should back off on security spending. Not ready. Organizing the tournament.
Naqvi had told reporters in Lahore that the Punjab government had spent Rs 600 million on PSL last year, adding that his cabinet was not ready to approve the expenditure this time due to the interim setup. .
Najam Sethi contacted the Prime Minister and briefed him on the security expenditure issue, sources said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz assured the PCB chief of full cooperation and support.
Chairman PCB said that the government did not stop demanding money for security, refusing to fulfill the demands, the matches will have to be shifted to Karachi.
Najam Sethi said that PSL is a national tournament and national institutions are responsible for its arrangements.
On Saturday, the PCB Management Committee and the franchises discussed the issue. “It was agreed that Rs 450 million for security and other expenses would not be paid to the Punjab government,” sources told JEE News.
Sources further said that the PCB is of the position that if the Punjab government continues to ask the board to pay the said amount, it will shift the matches of Lahore and Pindi to Karachi.
Sources also said that this would save money for both the PCB and the six PSL 2023 franchises.
The financial capital Karachi has so far hosted eight of the nine matches in its portion of PSL 2023, with the final match between Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings on Sunday.
The PCB has already paid the outstanding amount of Rs 50 million to the Punjab government, the agreement the board made with the previous government to hold PSL 2023 matches in Punjab. However, a caretaker government led by Mohsin Naqvi took charge last month.
According to the sources, the Sindh government is not demanding any additional money from the PCB and shifting the matches of Pindi and Lahore to Karachi will benefit the stakeholders.
