The six franchises in the Pakistan Super League cricket tournament are refusing the Pakistan Cricket Board’s demand to produce bank guarantees ahead of the new season, until they are provided with audited accounts for the last season of the competition.
According to The Indian Express, the franchises are arguing for a greater share of league revenues to help offset losses they’ve suffered in the first four seasons of the tournament. The teams are given a share of league commercial revenues each year by the PCB, the league’s organiser.
The Indian Express reported that a PCB source said the bank guarantees were required to make sure that payments to players could be made on time. In a recent meeting with the PCB, the franchises said they would not produce the guarantees until they had seen last season’s accounts.
The PCB is aiming to host the fifth edition of the PSL entirely in Pakistan, beginning next March. Due to security concerns, matches from previous editions have been held in the United Arab Emirates.
Some franchises are reported to be concerned that hosting the event entirely in Pakistan will make it more difficult to recruit overseas players.
