On Friday, June 26, In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that they will contribute a majority of their 7.76-billion-rupee annual budget for the development of domestic cricket while reducing the overall budget contributed by 10% from last year.
The board has allocated 71.2 percent of the overall budget for cricket-related activities to ensure that despite tough financial situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cricket remains unaffected and the PCB continues to invest in… Share on X
The cricketing activities include 25.2% of the budget for domestic cricket which covers all events and player’s contracts/match officials/player support personnel contracts and High-Performance Centre costs. 19.3 percent for men’s international cricket which includes home away series and player contracts. A small percentage of the budget is going towards Medical and Sport Sciences (1.5%).
This came as a surprise to many, that the budget allocated for international cricket is lesser than domestic cricket but the PCB has taken this action to support local/domestic cricket amidst the financial struggles due to the ongoing pandemic.
19.7 percent for the local Pakistani Super League 2021 which is the biggest tournament in Pakistan. The remaining 5.5 % of the budget is allocated for women’s cricket. The PCB wants to promote women’s cricket as it has gained a lot of traction after the latest T20 World Cup. PCB released a 5-year plan which includes inclusivity and plans to develop a High-Performance Center for women to ensure women get the same facilities and training as the men.
PCB chief Ehsan Mani said the reduction in the overall budget was a part of the cricket board’s robust financial management and belt-tightening exercise in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These steps have been taken to ensure that despite tough financial situations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, cricket remains unaffected and the PCB continues to invest in the future,” a PCB release said.
The Board of Governors (BOG) was also informed that due to the Coronavirus pandemic there will be a reduction in revenues as the pandemic has affected revenue earned from international cricket. The BOG has also agreed to continue investment in infrastructure development by approving a 1.22 billion budget for capital expenditure which will help Pakistan in the future while bidding to host future ICC events or tournaments.
Mani thanked the BOG for the continued infrastructure investment saying “I am also grateful to the BOG for approving the capital expenditure budget, which is aimed at enhancing and improving our infrastructure so that we can provide better experience and facilities to our fans and cricketers, and also develop and upgrade our high-performance centers across the country. This will be an important investment as we have submitted an expression of interest for some ICC Events in the 2023-31 cycle and quality cricket infrastructure will be one of the key factors that will determine if we are successful in earning hosting rights of any of the events.”
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