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 (PCB) calls an emergency meeting with the owners of all six franchises of the HBL Pakistan Super League on Friday to inform them of this demand.
The provincial government has submitted a bill of Rs450 million, in addition to the Rs50 million that was previously paid for the same purpose, by previous PCB practices.
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.
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.
But, the PCB is making cuts after incurring massive losses totaling Rs. 1 billion when staging the Pakistan Junior League under the leadership of former 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.
Even when hosting the PSL in the United Arab Emirates, the PCB has never incurred such a significant security cost, according to sources.
PCB Urges Government to Support PSL and Explore Options to Cut Security Costs
The PSL is a national brand that serves a significant national purpose, so the government should support it wholeheartedly, according to the PCB.
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 require generators to be powered.
In the past, there have been discussions of building hotels closer to stadiums to save security costs, but neither the governments nor the PCB have taken a serious stance to include the private sector in making that happen.