Ali Tareen has criticized PCB for not managing PSL properly and self-congratulating themselves.
In a viral video posted on X, Tareen tore up the legal notice, claiming that such acts would not frighten him. Tareen chastised the present PCB leadership, led by Mohsin Naqvi, for its management of the PSL and its intolerant attitude toward stakeholder opposition.
Tareen read and responded immediately to the legal notice on tape during his answer, emphasizing his reluctance to delete his words or provide a forced apology.
“Everything that I have said against the PSL management—if I don’t take it back and don’t make a public apology to the PSL management, then they will cancel our Multan Sultans franchise agreement and blacklist me from the PSL forever so that I can never play again. Look, this is exactly what you don’t want—that you work with your stakeholders. You just want us all to sit quietly and live your life. You are so used to having yes-men and minions that you cannot tolerate even a little criticism,” Tareen says in the video.
Tareen has been very vocal about the difficulties franchise owners are facing in running their teams and the overall management of the PSL.
In April, he shared a podcast clip on X questioning the board’s pre-season planning. He said, “How is PSL 10 bigger and better? Same games, same teams—what’s new? Fed up with hollow words. PCB had time to plan innovations, but we’re repeating last year. Our biggest brand deserves more. Explain the vision!”
In July, Tareen slammed PCB, questioning the self-applause for PSL 10’s success and pointing out that TV ratings were down, attendance was falling, and digital engagement was slowing. He told PCB to wake up and stated they needed to manage PSL better.
A PCB source claimed that Ali's repeated statements had damaged the league's reputation and violated the terms of the agreement.
Tareen further emphasized the lack of communication from PSL management, stating that he had never received a call or offer to discuss matters but was instead served with a legal notice.
“Till today, I have never received a single call, a message, an email, or an invitation—asking, 'Do you have any issues? Come to the office, let’s meet together, address them, and see what we can bring to this league.' Straightaway, a legal notice. If you had even a little bit of sense, you would know such things cannot be managed this way.
And look, if you think that with threats like this, I will stay quiet, that is your misunderstanding, because I love this league. I love it far more than you do because this league belongs to us, to the fans, to all of Pakistan. The way the three of you are running it—this does not belong to you alone. If you actually wanted to, I could work out the issues; you could call me, give me a cup of tea and three biscuits, sit together and talk, and we would make a decision. After that, there would be no public embarrassment. Together, we could make this league top-class,” Tareen added.
Tareen addressed the PCB's demand for a public apology, indicating his willingness to apologize, but only for constructive criticism.
He stated, "And see, you asked for a public apology. Although my legal team is telling me that an apology is not necessary because we did nothing wrong, look—a true big man apologizes. So, I am completely ready to apologize to you. So, I apologize: I want the PSL to improve. I apologize that when I saw issues, I raised my voice. And I apologize that I was unhappy that you give each other such high-fives and so little work, as you like."
Here is the video: