The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that no new team will be added to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for at least two years.
The development comes a day after the franchises agreed to PCB’s new revenue-sharing model that offers an increased share, fixing the dollar value and fee relaxation as part of Covid relief.
PCB Director Media & Communications Sami Ul Hasan Burney confirmed to Business Recorder that the cricket board's plan to add a seventh team to the PSL pool has been put off for at least two years.
PSL franchises accept PCB's new revenue sharing model
The PCB was to hold the auction process for the seventh team ahead of PSL 2023, however, staunch opposition from franchises held the cricket board back. Team owners maintained that they had already been suffering losses for six years, and the addition of another team would add to their miseries.
Now, PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja has accepted their demand to ensure that the teams receive the maximum amount of share from the revenue stream to compensate for their losses.
The arrangement is part of the new financial deal between the cricket board and the PSL franchises agreed to on Monday.
PCB presents a new financial model to PSL franchises
Some of the salient features of the deal are the fee relaxation for the fifth and sixth editions of PSL as part of Covid-19 relief, an increase in the share of all six franchises from the Central Pool of Revenue till PSL 20, and fixing of dollar rate to end uncertainty surrounding annual payments.
In a joint statement, the franchise owners welcomed the move and said they look forward to expanding the existing partnership with the cricket board and making the league even bigger and better.
“HBL PSL is very close to our hearts. Since 2016, we all have worked very hard to bring it to where it is today. The acceptance of the PCB offer is an indication of our commitment and resolve to make the HBL PSL a bigger and better league that is participated by the best players, commercially supported by the elite companies and watched live by the passionate cricket fans in Pakistan as well as globally,” the statement added.