The Punjab government has asked for a sum of Rs450 million to provide security for the matches that will be held in Lahore and Rawalpindi from February 26 and March 1, respectively. The Pakistan Cricket Board has called an urgent meeting with the owners of all six franchises of the HBL Pakistan Super League on Friday to inform them of this demand.
PCB calls the emergent meeting to decide PSL fate of Rs450 million
Dawn has learned from trustworthy sources that, in accordance with previous PCB practices, the provincial government has filed a bill for Rs450 million in addition to the Rs50 million that has previously been paid for the same reason. But this time, Mohsin Naqvi’s caretaker administration in Punjab is requesting more. According to a report from last week, the Punjab government requested a total of Rs. 800 million for matches taking place throughout the province.
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The last game in this year’s spectacular T20 spectacle in Karachi will be played on Sunday after matches in Multan were already finished. The final, one qualifier, and two eliminators will all be played in Lahore, with tickets for the games already being purchased in the Punjabi city and in Rawalpindi.
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But, the PCB is making cuts after incurring massive losses of Rs. 1 billion when staging the Pakistan Junior League under the leadership of previous chairman Ramiz Raja, and it has decided not to pay such a significant sum. Because of this, matches scheduled for Lahore and Rawalpindi may be moved to Karachi after Friday’s meeting. The Sindh government has requested Rs30 million for matches in Karachi, in striking contrast to the Punjab administration.
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Even while hosting the PSL in the United Arab Emirates, the PCB has never incurred such a significant security cost of Rs450 million, according to sources. The PSL is a national brand that serves a significant national purpose, thus the government should support it wholeheartedly, according to the PCB.
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The primary security cost associated with conducting PSL matches is the installation of lights on both sides of the teams’ 12- to 15-kilometer journeys from hotels to stadiums in Lahore and Rawalpindi, which need generators to be powered. In the past, there have been conversations about building hotels closer to stadiums to save security costs, but neither the governments nor the PCB has taken a serious stance to include the private sector in making that happen.
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