Staging PSL at home a challenge: PCB chief

KARACHI: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, Najam Sethi, on Saturday said that holding the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on home soil was a “challenge”

“Continuing PSL in Pakistan is a challenge. The Punjab government sent us a bill of Rs800m for security, while the bill was Rs400m for Karachi. However, after our request, the Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, waived the bill. When I told this to the Punjab government, they also decided against charging us for security,” he told reporters.

“We do not take a single rupee from the government but pay taxes,” he added.

Sethi revealed that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had asked him to restore departmental cricket.

“Before I came, instructions were issued to restore departmental cricket. I hope that Karachi Customs will also restore the cricket team. It is not appropriate that if the chairman changes, all the work goes to waste,” he said.

Sethi stressed that India’s announcement of their women’s league came right after Pakistan announced the same.

He said PCB wanted to revive women’s cricket in the country and the Women’s League is part of that plan.

On the sidelines of the ongoing eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the PCB will hold three women’s exhibition matches as a build-up to the Women’s League.

“As soon as we announced the women’s league, India and the IPL announced their own women’s league. This year we are going to launch a women’s league. There are some women’s matches in this PSL as well,” he said.

He also heaped massive praise on Pakistan women’s wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali for “scoring a magnificent century” against Ireland in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2023 in South Africa.

During the press conference, Sethi also admitted that continuing the (PSL) on home soil was a “challenge.”

Earlier, there had been concerns voiced over the future of the PSL 8 matches scheduled in Karachi, following the attack on the city’s police chief’s headquarters on Friday evening. However, an emergency meeting was called by the PCB which was attended by franchise representatives.

In the meeting, PCB, in consultation with security agencies and the provincial government, took franchises in confidence. As a result, they all agreed to continue with the ongoing edition of PSL as per schedule in Karachi.