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Pakistan Super League launch date uncertain following unsatisfactory bids

The bid committee includes former finance minister Salman Shah.

 

© Getty Images
The Pakistan Super League was supposed to be launched in December-January © Getty Images

Karachi: Aug 21, 2014

The much-touted Pakistan Super League (PSL) might not be launched in December-January as envisaged by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The bid committee which was to carry out sale of wholesale rights of the PSL was not satisfied with the bids they had received so far.

A top ranking official of the board who didn’t want to be named told PTI, “We got bids from two parties, one is a subsidiary of the Ebraaj group in the UAE and the other was a joint bid from Haier Pakistan, a leading company which deals in production and manufacturing of electronic appliances.”

Both have also submitted the initial guarantee amounts of USD 3 million each to show their financial strength but the bid committee is still not convinced as yet about their viability and whether they should be awarded 15 years’ rights of the PSL which includes broadcasting and title sponsorship, the official said.

He said the bid committee which includes former finance minister Salman Shah was due to meet on Saturday in Lahore to take a final decision on whether to go ahead with the PSL or not. On Saturday, the PCB’s board of governors will also meet in Lahore under the Chairmanship of Shaharyar Khan. The official said the bids and details submitted by the two parties had been evaluated and they had been asked for more information.

The bid committee’s main objection is that so far the proper owners of these companies have not come forward and are trying to buy the rights of the PSL through their subsidiary companies, he added. The PCB said it was planning to hold the PSL in late December or early January in Dubai before the World Cup 2015.

The main issue is whether these companies can meet obligations of the PCB for 15 years, or the PSL meets the same fate as the Bangladesh Premier League or the Sri Lankan League. The PCB has already called off plans to hold the PSL once before in 2013 when Zaka Ashraf was Chairman.

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