This is apropos a letter to the Editor titled ‘The limits of autonomy’ carried by the newspaper yesterday. In my view, it is also correct in contending that commercially sensitive contracts and the private financial affairs of players or officials deserve protection. However, the board’s argument cannot end there.
The issue is not whether confidential contractual terms should be made public but whether an institution vested with statutory authority can remain largely insulated from independent scrutiny of its financial affairs.
The PCB may see itself as comparable to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which enjoys autonomy in managing the world’s richest cricket market. But the comparison is only partial. The BCCI is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act. The PCB, by contrast, derives its legal character from the state. Although established in 1948, it was reorganised as a corporate body under the Sports (Development and Control) Ordinance, 1962.
Raheel Warraich, Lahore
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026