Pakistan's caretaker government has halted the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) process of selling media rights to international matches and the Pakistan Super League.
This has forced Cricket Management Committee (CMC) head Zaka Ashraf to postpone his planned visit to Australia and seek a meeting with Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar, who is also the chief patron of the board.
CMC had just started the process of inviting bids for the sale of PSL and international cricket media rights before the notification from the government was issued.
"The government's Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (sports) has issued a notification to the board making it clear that from now on, the CMC/PCB has to seek permission from the government before signing any major deal," a reliable source said on Sunday.
The notification further mandated approval for every major decision by the board, which is seen as a vote of no-confidence against the CMC, headed by Ashraf. Ashraf, who took over as CMC head in July, was given a three-month extension in November, which ends on February 4.
The primary mandate given to the CMC was to hold the regional associations' elections and form a board of governors to elect a new PCB chairman. The notification also restricts the PCB to just day-to-day functions.
PCB was expecting around 8-9 billion Pakistani rupees from the sale of PSL and international media rights for home matches, and the delay in negotiations is a matter of concern.
The source further added that the notification had already resulted in the suspension of approvals of 7-8 tenders related to the league's operations. This also means the possibility of PCB being unable to sell the rights at the optimum rate.
The development has also prevented the release of the PSL 9 schedule, as the PCB insists it can only be finalized after the successful sale of media rights.
(PTI inputs)
