Adding teams in HBL PSL not ideal at the moment: Qalandars CEO

Lahore Qalandars CEO Atif Rana, in an interview with Cricket Pakistan, claimed that adding more teams in the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) would not be an ideal decision in the current circumstances.

Rana believed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needed to work on the foundation of the league before adding new teams.

“Until you can correct the base of the league, if you don’t have a strong foundation, adding stories to it will lead to an eventual collapse. So first they need to correct the base and then they should add as many teams as they want,” Rana said.

“We can see the intent from the PCB. Just like Najam Sethi launched the league, Ehsan Mani’s vision is to make it the number one league in the world. It can only achieve that goal once all its stakeholders are happy with it. The fans are happy with the event. Pakistan has a lot of positivity. It has created a better image of Pakistan around the world. The PCB has gained financially from it. But if the franchises aren’t gaining from it, if one of your body parts is being ruined, than you can’t call it complete. If we want to make it the number one league than we will have to take positive steps,” he added.

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The Qalandars’ CEO revealed that the franchises had requested the board to look at the UAE as a potential plan B for the PSL.

“When the bio-bubble was broken and then a June window was decided. We didn’t have any other windows to hold the event. We told them that coronavirus cases are on the rise in Pakistan and therefore we should have a plan B. This was the time when they went to the NCOC for approval to start the logistical process for the event. The NCOC did not grant the approval. Since we had also written to them about considering UAE as an option, then it was seriously looked at as an option,” he said.

“The management made a good decision [by taking care of the expenditures]. We are all working in a partnership. Unfortunately the franchises are not earning as much as other stakeholders. Some things are beyond our control. The leagues needed to happen for the sake of continuity and our goal to make it the best league in the world. Obviously if you want to be the number one league in the world, then completing a season is vital. This is a great step and a breath of fresh air for us,” he concluded.