The fourth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) has showcased the importance of holding the matches in Pakistan, as compared to United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The tournament started with the match between defending champions Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars in Dubai on February 14, 2019 and culminated with the final in Karachi, where Quetta Gladiators defeated Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets, on March 17, 2019.
34 matches were played in the fourth edition and for the first time in the short history of this highly successful and much-awaited tournament, Karachi hosted eight matches at the backend of the 32-day event.
The finalising of financial accounts were delayed because the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had not received payment from one of its partners, which has now cleared its debts.
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According to sources, the total revenue earned from the event is around PKR2.79 billion. The PCB’s share in this is around PKR1.07 billion while the franchises will pocket around PKR1.72 billion — which means PKR286 million per franchise.
The board earned PKR111.23 million from gate money during the 26 matches of UAE, which is significantly lower than PKR190.98 million earned from the eight matches in Pakistan. The revenue-sharing ratio of gate money is 30 per cent for PCB while the rest is divided equally among the franchises.
Another major source of income was the television broadcasting deal, including both in Pakistan and abroad. From the Pakistan part, the revenue was around 1.17 billion while 240 million was from other countries.
The PCB is responsible for players’ match fees, on behalf of franchises, daily allowance, traveling and other miscellaneous expenses, which could mean that franchises will end up with a nominal amount of money or nothing at all. All six teams have to submit yearly franchise fee as well, which is an additional burden. Although franchises earn money from sponsors and other related sources but it might not be enough to ensure that the fourth edition was a profitable one for most of them.