The HBL PSL saved Pakistan Cricket. And no, we are not talking about the impact the tournament has had on the country’s cricketing culture, the opportunities it has afforded to young players, or the extra income it has provided to many professional players who would otherwise never get this kind of international exposure.
We are talking strictly about the financial side of the equation.
Over the past six years, the HBL PSL has year in and year out been the largest source of revenue for the cricket board. In certain years it has provided up to half of the entire revenue the board saw come into its coffers. Even in the years where the PCB made a loss, the HBL PSL was always a profitable venture for the board.
That is until last year. According to the board’s latest financial statements, which are available with Profit, the financial year 2022-23 was the first time since 2018 that the HBL PSL was not the biggest source of income for the cricket board. Instead, the biggest source of revenue for the board was international cricket hosted by Pakistan. The total revenue for the HBL PSL for 2023 came out to Rs 3.55 billion. In comparison, the revenue Pakistan made from international tournaments was nearly Rs 5.5 billion. Normally, revenue from international tournaments is pretty much the same every year since participation fees have been around about the same for some years now. It varies a little depending on where a team finishes in a particular tournament. In 2021 this was Rs 2.4 billion, and in 2022 it was Rs 2.8 billion because Pakistan was the runner up at the T20 World Cup in Australia. But as any fan will tell you, the team has not been on a winning streak in the past year or two. So why the sudden uptick of revenue to Rs 5.5 billion? The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
