Ramiz Raja, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has expressed his thoughts on redesigning the Pakistan Super League (PSL) by implementing an auction system similar to the Indian Premier League (IPL) to ensure that it can compete with the Indian league.
Raja further stated that once the auction-based concept is implemented in Pakistan’s home T20 event, no player would prefer IPL over PSL. The PCB chairman drew criticism from Indian fans on social media after saying, “We’ll see who goes to play the IPL over the PSL.”
Ramiz Raja clarifies ‘we’ll see who goes to play IPL over PSL’ remark
Ramiz Raja, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has spoken about redesigning the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in order to sway international players away from the Indian Premier League (IPL).
His statements were widely condemned by Indian cricket fans, and they occurred at a time when the BCCI was negotiating the hugely lucrative IPL media rights. However, on Sunday, the PCB chairman clarified his remark that “we’ll see who goes to play the IPL over the PSL.”
“This is a game of money. When the cricket economy grows in Pakistan, our respect will rise. The main driver of that financial economy is the PSL. If we take the PSL to auction model, increase the purse, then I’ll put it in the IPL bracket. And then we’ll see who goes to play the IPL over the PSL,” Ramiz Raja said.
The remark was made only days before the commencement of the 15th season of the IPL, and just as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was preparing to put out a tender for the media rights to the next 5-year cycle of the IPL, which is projected to bring in huge sums for the Indian board.
Later, the former Pakistan cricketer stated that he was misquoted and that he is aware of the economic differences between the two countries.
“I was misquoted. I know the where economy of India is and where is Pakistan’s. We have plans to improve the PSL. We will bring in the auction model but I was misquoted on the other part,” Ramiz Raja said.
Meanwhile, Ramiz is due to formally present the ‘four-nation tournament’ idea, which includes India, Pakistan, Australia, and England, to the International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting in Duba next week.
“I don’t know how the ICC members will receive it but how long can we allow ourselves to be dictated by politics between countries. Star Sports had made a presentation at the last ICC board meeting where it said the India-Pakistan game at the Twenty20 World Cup broke all viewership records. Why don’t we have more of what the fans want?” Raja added.
