Pakistan to invest mere ₹63 crore each to make international cricket and PSL 2021 happen

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have announced the annual budget as operating expenditure for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The budget saw some changed due to the COVID-19 environment, which brought cricket across the globe to a standstill. The Pakistan Super League (PSL 2020) was also affected by the global health crisis and the knockout stages of Pakistan's annual T20 franchise tournament were postponed. The PCB's budget announcement comes in before the England vs Pakistan 2020 series, which will mark the return of cricket for Pakistan post lockdown. 

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PCB announces annual budget for Pakistan cricket, PSL 2020 and High-Performance committee 

In an official statement on Monday, PCB announced the approval of PKR 7.76 billion (₹348 crore) as operating expenditure for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The budget is 10% less than what was allotted last year but there will be no cut-down on cricket-related activities as the board is committed to spending PKR 5.29 billion (₹237 crore) on cricket over the next 12 months, including the England vs Pakistan 2020 series.

The budget includes PKR 1.8 billion (₹80 crore) in High Performance, PKR 1.4 billion (₹62 crore) on the Pakistan Super League 2021, PKR 1.4 billion (₹62 crore) on international cricket, PKR 109 million (₹56 lakh) on Medical and Sports Sciences, PKR 411 million (₹18 crore) on women's cricket and PKR 39 million (₹1.7 crore) on disabled cricket. PCB’s High Performance got the biggest chunk of the budget as it deals with most of the domestic cricket expenses in the country including players/match officials/curator contracts, domestic events, their prize money as well as different academy programmes.

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Pakistan overhauled their domestic structure last year, announcing a five-category grade-based system of monthly retainers, apart from the match fees for all 192 players. Furthermore, the PCB also abolished the departmental format and brought in just the six provincial teams to streamline the structure. The constitution was amended as the Board of Governors (BoG) of PCB  approved the code of ethics, which deals with matters such as conflict of interest, declaration of interests and confidentiality, with the sole purpose being to safeguard the integrity and the reputation of the PCB. 

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Completing PSL 2020 high on PCB's agenda: Report 

The PCB are struggling to complete the suspended season PSL 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The PSL 2020 was the frith edition pf the tournament, but the first to be held entirely in Pakistan. The board is desperate to find a window to schedule the tournament, as they aim to decide the winner in a logical manner. A PCB source told Sportskeeda that all franchises are in favour of hosting remaining matches of PSL 5 games later this year. The source added that the PCB were contemplating hosting the tournament without international stars but are hoping that the tournament's goodwill will pay off and a few star players arrive to participate in the semi-final and final. 

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(Image Courtesy: icc-cricket.com)