LAHORE: In a shrewd move, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani seems to have cornered the franchise owners by inducting them in various committees for the bidding process for next year’s fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

It may be mentioned here that last Saturday, Mani chaired the first meeting of the PSL Governing Council in Lahore after being elected as the board chairman.

Though the meeting took several decisions, one of them reflects the importance of the franchises but it could backfire on them in case they fail to achieve the target of collecting $75 million through biddings for the next edition.

The decision said: “It was decided unanimously that franchise representatives would be a part of bid committees for various upcoming PSL rights. The chairman welcomed the inclusion of franchises in the decision-making process and highlighted the need to ensure collective growth of all partners.”

One of the representatives of the franchises said though it was a good step, it also increases their responsibilities as well as the risk.

“We are not in profit but PCB is the biggest beneficiary of the PSL’s profit. Now we will try our best to achieve the set targets of collecting $75 million which will also make us richer, otherwise we will suffer a loss. In case of failure, we cannot blame the PCB, as we will also be part of the bidding process,” the owner argued.

“We have to sell the broadcast rights for $35 million against the previous amount of just $15 million. For the first three years the title sponsorship was awarded to HBL for around $600,000 but now the target is set at $1.5 million,” he disclosed.

The main hope in achieving the target is that brand value of the PSL has been estimated at $230million, so hopefully, the PCB may succeed in generating $75 million. As eight matches of the league are being planned for Pakistan, where capacity crowds are expected, the sponsors will have more opportunities to get their mileage.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2018