There is no precedent for it. But there is never really a precedent for any development in Pakistan cricket.
The happenings in Pakistan cricket are more cunning than the wildest fantasies and the current controversy engulfing the country’s cricket landscape is one of them.
Since it emerged that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) served a legal notice on Ali Tareen for breach of the franchise agreement last month, the conflict between the two has played out publicly.
While Tareen, the owner of Multan Sultans, has doubled down on his criticism on social media, the board has dropped subtle hints about the path it plans to take.
Sunday brought further developments when Tareen accused the PSL leadership of leaking the legal notice to “his favorite media outlets”.
“For the record, we received the legal notice on September 12,” the post said. “Our legal team sent them a detailed response.
Since then, we had chosen to remain silent and not make the matter public. Because nothing could be more damaging to the league than this.
“But then, the PSL leadership decided to leak parts of the notice to their favorite media outlets last week.
Perhaps they mistook our moderation for weakness. And one notice later, we are where we are. Let’s see (sic) where it all ends.”
An hour later, the PCB, in an update on the meeting between Mohsin Naqvi, its chairman, and Ernst&Young, the independent audit firm hired for the valuation of the six franchises and the brand value of the PSL, reiterated that it would extend the franchise renewal offer only to those franchisees who have complied with the franchise agreement.
Sources tell Dawn that Tareen has sought the intervention of politicians and fellow franchisees to mediate with the PCB.
Tareen has been directing his criticism towards PCB in the run-up to this year’s PSL. Mainly, he reiterated the complaints of common fans by highlighting the poor fan experience in stadiums across the country and criticized the board for the lack of innovation in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which he claimed resulted in the decline of the league.
He blamed the board for settling for “mediocrity” and questioned the credentials and capacity of PCB staff.
With the PCB’s contracts with the six PSL franchisees, title and other sponsors and broadcast rights holders expiring this year, Tareen’s frequent criticism of the league worried the PCB about its implications.
The PCB suspected that Tareen wanted to sabotage the league to adversely affect the valuation process and reduce the market value of his franchise, which the board stated in its legal notice to Tareen.
Board officials also lamented that instead of contributing to the PSL governing council meetings during which the owner and representatives of Multan Sultans remained silent, Tareen resorted to attacking the decisions on social media, something the PCB wrote in its notice.
Tareen took over as sole owner of Multan Sultans in late 2023 following the death of his uncle, Alamgir Tareen.
He and his uncle had bid $6.3 million (nearly double the reserve price set by the PCB) for the team in 2019 after the PCB terminated the franchise agreement with Schon Properties Broker LLC for failing to meet its financial obligations. (PCB has set the dollar at PKR 170 for the annual franchise fee).
The PCB contemplated sending a legal notice to Tareen during this year’s tournament, which he also mentioned in the notice, but refrained from doing so fearing it could damage the image of the league.
Tareen responded to the legal notice on October 2, but chances of a reconciliation appear bleak after he tore up the PCB’s legal notice on camera.
His act has publicly challenged the PCB’s stature as the governing body of the game in the country and cornered its boss. There are many inside and outside the country who anticipate the response.
Naqvi is embroiled in a dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the Asia Cup silverware issue.
The issue will arise again next month when cricket chiefs gather for an International Cricket Council (ICC) conclave.
The BCCI will be interested to see how Naqvi responds to the pressure publicly exerted by one of the PSL franchise owners in his country and the outcome of this saga will provide a template for how far they can stretch Naqvi.
Similarly, it will also set the tone for other gaming franchisees and stakeholders in Pakistan.
It is unprecedented for a PSL team owner to launch scathing tirades against the PCB. And the outcome of this clash will expand the list of unprecedented developments in Pakistan cricket.
