Future of Junior League 'safe' as MOU signed with major commercial partner

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has made the future of the Pakistan Junior League (PJL) "safe" after an MoU was signed with a major commercial partner company, which will have the option to sell most of the rights, including commercial and production.

According to the details, PJL is the dream project of Ramiz Raja and its first edition took place in October this year. PCB faced numerous problems in selling title sponsorships, including franchises, therefore, the board kept the rights of the teams. 

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PCB made efforts to sell the commercial rights and the tender was also issued Earlier, a PSL franchise owner was being convinced, but according to sources, the board has now approached its long-time commercial partner company.

The matters have been settled, its bid proved to be the biggest, the MoU of a 20-year agreement has also been signed, and most of the matters, including the sale of important rights like commercial, production will be handled by the company.

The league will be outsourced entirely, but the cricket will be as per the rules of the PCB. Interestingly, the contract will be applicable from the first edition, which costed PKR 80 crore to 1 billion. The board can get up to three million dollars annually.

On the other hand, cricket circles believe the junior league project was a flop. If there is a change in the board, it will be challenging for the new chairman to continue it. The board may also face legal action if they back out of the agreement in the future.

In this regard, when this correspondent contacted PCB Media Director Sami Al Hasan Burney last night, he did not consider it appropriate to answer.