PCB will not grant PSL an autonomous status

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rejected the proposal of making the Pakistan Super League (PSL) an autonomous body. Instead, the league is going to be organised by the governing body of PCB itself. This decision came after the resounding success of the second edition of PSL that was held in March 2017.

In the wake of PSL’s flourishing popularity and increased viewership, chairman Najam Sethi had declared previously that they were hopeful of making the league an independent body. However, the decision has been overturned. The primary reason for this move was PCB’s Board of Governors being reluctant to give the PSL a free run, without PCB’s involvement in its affairs.

PCB officials cannot be inducted into an independent entity

According to the Dawn, the current laws of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) bars induction of PCB officials into an independent entity. The board, however, had received the news that the existing laws might undergo reforms, thus allowing for the PCB to nominate its officials for the PSL in imminent future.

As a result, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and Najam Sethi had held a joint press conference and went ahead with the plan of granting PSL an autonomous status. They had further announced that the two officials from PCB as directors and three others would be named in the league, making it an all-encompassing and fully functional, independent governing body.

However, the announcements had to be rolled back after the reforms from the SECP failed to come through. Commenting on the incident, Sethi said, “Yes, we were hoping for a change in the laws of the SECP but they were not changed because of opposition from different quarters, so, we have now decided to run the PSL ourselves (PCB) instead of making it a separate entity.”