PSL postponed — again
The PCB had repeatedly made tall claims of holding the league either in Pakistan or in the UAE this year but called time on the project by stating that there was a ‘paucity of lead time’.
Board insiders, though, blame the musical chairs for the chairman seat between Zaka Ashraf and Najam Sethi, the court wrangling and the uncertain political situation in the country as the reasons for yet another postponement (The league was also postponed in February 2013).
So far the PCB has spent millions of dollars on planning the league which includes a dedicated staff working on the project for more nearly two years. Former International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat was reportedly paid $25,000 for his consultancy services when the showpiece venture was in the works under Ashraf besides perks and hospitality expenditure.
Two years in the running, the PCB has failed to live up to its promise which once again raises some serious concerns about the state of the management and whether the board actually has the requisite skill set in place. One also feels that the cricketing body is unnecessarily increasing expectations by claiming that they want to pull off a special show, whenever they launch the show! There is at present no guarantee of the success of the tournament, and it may easily turn out a damp squib. By mulling too much on making it ‘perfect’ the league might never get off the ground. After the delay it has become doubly important for the PCB to take the right steps and win the confidence of the investors by announcing proper road map if they are indeed keen on staging the league.
The role of the chief operating officer must not be underestimated in this context since amid all the uncertainty and constant changing and chopping he remains the only constant who has been nurtured as an immovable object at the PCB. We can only hope that this idea bears fruit soon, especially given that even minnow Bangladesh has such a league.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2014.
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With such an interesting match going on between IK/TUQ/Army on one hand and GoP on other, who would want to watch cricket?
Why do we need PSL? If the fundamental reasons are because India has one and we are not welcome there then this venture will never work. We have to learn from their mistakes...corruption is rampant in Pakistan Cricket so let's think through why we want PSL.