LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could not finalise its fiscal year budget for 2019-20 and only got approved a two-month budget till August 31, 2019 as a short-term measure to keep the financial affairs steady.

Dawn learnt that the members of the PCB’s Board of Governors have given the approval to the two-month budget on ad-hoc basis in its last meeting held in Lahore on Wednesday.

When contacted, a PCB spokesman confirmed that only two-month budget was approved because the PCB is still waiting for the approval from the Inter-provincial Coordination ministry, of some amendments made in its constitution which are related to the new domestic cricket system.

The spokesman said that as different financial impact will come in case of the ministry gives the approval to the new domestic cricket structure based on six provincial teams to play the first-class cricket season as well as at the inter-city level in first phase, the PCB will wait for the approval before finalising the budget according to the situation.

When asked till what time the PCB could wait for the approval, the spokesman said hopefully the approval will come by the end of July this year, but if not it may be a hard task to go ahead with the new proposed system.

The big hurdle in the way of the approval seems to be the proposal of abolishing the departmental teams from the next season. The government may face agitation from the cricketers who will face exit from their departmental teams.

Former Pakistan great cricketer Javed Miandad has already warned the government that he will launch a brisk campaign if the PCB moves to abolish the decades old departmental cricket structure.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2019