In the 9 September 2020 Daily Express article, which was translated and reproduced by sister organization The Tribune under the headline PCB’s excessive spending continues despite Covid-19, the newspaper leveled serious and libelous financial allegations against the Pakistan Cricket Board without taking the trouble to cross-check the facts and background.
The facts shared by the PCB in response to the allegations, as per the press release are:
i) The Board of Governors (BoG), in its 57th meeting held in Peshawar on 4 February 2020, approved the PCB Financial Statements for the period 2018-2019, which highlighted a significant rise in revenue of about Rs. 6 billion.
ALSO READ
Yousuf & Misbah Finally Resolve Issues for ‘Pakistan Cricket’s Betterment’
ii) The BoG, in its 58th meeting held via a virtual session on 26 June 2020, approved Rs. 7.76 billion operating expenditure budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which was a 10 percent reduction from the 2019-20 budget as part of the PCB’s austerity, robust financial management, and belt-tightening exercise. Budget details and breakdown have been publicized through the BoG outcomes release, and subsequently via the 5th edition of the PCB Quarterly Newsletter.
iii) PCB’s financial outlook is stronger than ever and the reserves continue to increase due to the board’s approach and strategy around austerity and tight financial controls. Despite the pandemic challenges, the PCB’s forecasted cash flow reserve for the 2020-21 fiscal year will be higher than the current balance.
iv) Financial audits for 2019-20 are in process and, as per the PCB’s transparency policy, will be uploaded on the corporate website
v) On 6 June 2020, the PCB had announced its annual incremental increase policy with the relevant extracts from the media release reproduced below:
- After past culture of all PCB staff receiving substantial annual incremental increases, we have made a decision to tighten our expenditure over the next 12 months and only award increases to staffers who earn Rs. 100,000 a month or less. This will commence from the new fiscal year, which starts on 1 July
vi) In addition to the above, and after taking into account outstanding performances of the PCB staff in the 2019-20 cricket season in which the PCB staged nearly 225 domestic matches, international home series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and also hosted the MCC and PSL 2020, the PCB management, in its absolute discretion and following recommendations from the department heads, awarded promotions to nine high-performing personnel, while 20 received cash increments.
ALSO READ
Zaheer Abbas Emerges as Top Contender For Chairman Cricket Committee Role
vii) Major replacements within the organization in key positions and without any additional financial burden on the PCB’s coffers have been in the following areas:
- Player Support Personnel of the Pakistan men’s cricket team
- Player Support Personnel of the Pakistan women’s cricket team
- Player Support Personnel of the Pakistan U19 cricket team
- Chief Operating Officer, who has replaced Subhan Ahmed
- Chief Financial Officer, who has replaced Badar Manzoor Khan
- Director – High Performance, who has replaced Director – Academies (Mudassar Nazar) and Director – Domestic Cricket (Haroon Rashid)
- Grant Bradburn, who has replaced Ali Zia
- Mohammad Yousuf, who has replaced Mansoor Rana
- Mohammad Zahid, who has replaced Mohsin Kamal
- Atiq-uz-Zaman, who has replaced Abdul Majeed
- Asser Malik, who has replaced Mushtaq Ahmed (SGM – Operations)
viii) These replacements were formally announced through various media releases, which are available on the PCB website.
ix) 15 new Cricket Association coaches for the 2020-21 season replaced the 2019-20 coaches. This announcement was made via a media release. Among the 15 new coaches are eight former international stars Abdul Razzaq (46 Tests, 265 ODIs and 32 T20Is), Aizaz Cheema (seven Tests 14 ODIs and five T20Is), Basit Ali (19 Tests and 50 ODIs), Faisal Iqbal (26 Tests, 18 ODIs), Ghulam Ali (three ODIs and 167 first-class matches), Humayun Farhat (one Test and five ODIs), Irfan Fazil (one Test, one ODI) and Zafar Iqbal (eight ODIs).
x) These former internationals have been engaged due to their cricket knowledge, experience, understanding and following a 360-assessment, performance review and robust recruitment process, and not because of their views about the Pakistan men’s national cricket team or the PCB.
ALSO READ
Shoaib Akhtar Confirms Being Approached By PCB For Chief Selector Role
xi) The performance review and recruitment process, included: survey, self- assessment, 360-assessment, panel interview, and application process. This review and assessment were carried out by Grant Bradburn (Head of High Performance Coaching), Saqlain Mushtaq (Head of International Player Development) and Shahid Aslam (National Men’s Team Assistant). The panel submitted their recommendations to Director – High Performance, which were subsequently approved by the Chief Executive. Members of the PCB Cricket Committee were kept abreast of the process and developments. Details of the review and recruitment process are explained in a media release, which is available here.
The PCB says there is no space for baseless and agenda-based campaigns along with character assassination either in the noble profession of journalism or any civilized society.
What are your thoughts on the story? Let us know in the comments section.
