Case in court: PSL franchises still undecided on PCB meeting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises are undecided on holding talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the already convened meeting likely to be held between October 8-10.

The PCB had in fact convened all PSL franchise owners’ meeting during a communique on September 23 before owners moved to the court to seek reprieve. A representative of the PSL franchises when contacted said that the decision to meet the PCB think-tank will be a collective one.

“We have already decided to take a collective decision. We have not decided as yet as whether to meet the PCB or wait for the outcome of the court verdict. The matter is already subjudice. We will definitely be requiring legal advice on the matter and in the wake of that, the decision will be taken accordingly,” a PSL representative said.

He said that personally he was not against holding meeting with PCB to solve the pending matters. “I don’t think there is any harm to meet board officials. We would be requiring legal advice and moreover the decision will be a joint one. There were some pending issues that required a solution. We have waited for years and there has been no solution. Ultimately, we have to move the court to seek reprieve,” he said.

A PCB official however hoped that the sanity would prevail. “Legal battle would hardly serve any purpose rather it possibly would complicate the matter further. We hope to make an out of court settlement. Even if the legal battle is on, there is no harm in holding meeting and trying to solve the pending issues.

“Admitted that franchises have their grievances, PCB also has some serious issues that require answers. That is why the meeting is important,” he said. The official said that the board had never objected and even sought the details as to how these franchises kept on selling their products for each and every edition of PSL. “If these franchises have their issues, we have our own and that is what we want to discuss, staying within the parameters of the new financial model. If they have any issue regarding the model that could also be discussed,” he said.

“We have sent an invitation to all the PSL franchises on September 23 for a meeting, depending on the availability of all the representatives and getting a positive response for the meeting.” The Lahore High Court is set to hear the case on September 30 where it is likely to consider the PCB reply on the petition jointly filed by the PSL franchises.