The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has adopted a firm stance with regards to payment of fees, for the next season of Pakistan Super League (PSL), by the franchises.

According to sources, PCB has told the franchises that they will be forced to take strict action, which includes termination of contracts, if the fee is not paid within the next 21 days. A notice has also been issued to all the franchises in this regard.

The PCB and PSL franchises are currently in the process of discussing a revised financial model, which suits both parties. This and the financial strain caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was the reason behind the delay in submission of franchise fee for the sixth edition of PSL.

As far as the PSL financial model is concerned, the PCB had send two proposals to the franchises on December 22 and also a third and final one, after further discussion, on December 30. After the final proposal, PCB has clearly told the franchises that they should accept or reject the proposed model by January 6 while also stating that no further discussion will take place in this regard.

Sources further stated that the current development has put both parties at odds once again and the franchises are currently discussing their next course of action.

According to the revised financial model, the exchange rate for fees is fixed, in line with value at December 31, 2020, at $161 for the next 14 years. The dollar rate is a major cause of concern for the franchises, due to increasing expenses, because at the time they bought the team, the rate was 104. Few days back, PCB had agreed to fix the rate at 138 but that is no longer the case.

This process of taking fees will continue till the central income pool has risen to Rs.7 billion, after subtracting expenses, or PSL 20 ¬— whichever is earlier. During this period, franchises will get 92.5 per cent share from commercial contracts while the remained will be kept by the PCB.

After this phase has passed, the PCB will not take franchise fee for the next 30 years but share of commercial contracts will switch to 70 and 30 per cent between the PCB and franchises, respectively. The franchise owners are not convinced with this as they want this ratio be 60:40, which is similar to what happens in the Indian Premier League.

It must be noted that the current contract between PCB and the franchises is for 10 years, after which the franchises fee will increase by 25 per cent. In terms of commercial contracts, the revenue sharing ratio is between 60-95 per cent in favour of the franchises.

When PCB Media Director Samiul Hassan Burney was approached on the matter, he confirmed that PCB had sent notices to franchises, regarding payment of fees, but said that there was no such thing as far as termination of contracts is concerned.