As stated by an insider, the players are paid in dollars on the day of the drafting, putting a massive economic strain on the franchises as the dollar rate increases each day.
We all know that the economy’s condition isn’t the brightest news you want to hear today. The changing condition of the world since 2020, the pandemic situation, and the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict have affected already struggling economies like Pakistan. In light of these current circumstances, countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka are near default due to a lack of dollars. And this lack of dollars is causing the franchises to lose money.
Let’s talk about it more in this article.
Increasing Dollar rates cause PSL franchises to lose money!
The dollar situation is causing problems for the tournament. The insider further added there is no legitimate justification for compensating Pakistani cricketers in dollars and that team owners have discussed the problem with the PCB executive committee’s head, Najam Sethi, but no solution has been found.
It’s worth mentioning that Pakistani participants usually get 70% of their money in advance. At the same time, the other 30% is reimbursed after the tournament. On the other hand, the initial payment for the 7th edition was delayed. This means that franchises are already struggling with payments. With the Pakistan rupee witnessing historic devaluation recently, the dollar exchange rate has been steadily rising.
This has greatly influenced the cricket business, with the price of participating in the PSL rising.
How much do the teams pay these players?
So, let’s see how the teams pay these players. This will help us understand the problems they are facing.
[su_table]
| Category | Pay in dollars |
| Platinum | 130000-170000 |
| Diamond | 60000-85000 |
| Gold | 40000-50000 |
| Silver | 15000-25000 |
| Emerging | 7000 |
[/su_table]
This is the payment they get. Now, let’s talk about how this affects PCB and the franchises.
Is this a logical decision to introduce USD to pay the local players?
Trade all over the world is done in USD. Understandably, the team owners are paying international players in that currency. But paying the local players in dollars doesn’t seem logical considering the current situation. The dollar rate is increasing day by day. The supply and demand are not balanced at all. It is hard to find dollars. Spending this valuable currency like this is a disaster for the team owners.
They have tried negotiating with the PCB chairman, but he isn’t listening to these demands. The dollar rate was low when the draft was happening. But the Pakistani rupee saw historical devaluation in recent days. Now, it is way higher than it was back in December. If you do the math, franchises will pay a lot more to the players.
For example, for a platinum player, the pay is 170000 dollars. So, he was paid a total of 119000 dollars already. The rest is to be paid after the tournament. As per the dollar rate in December, the total amount in PKR is 38250000. Out of this, 26775000 is already paid. This means that teams had to pay the remaining 11475000 PKR as per the old rate. But according to the new rate of USD (250), they have to pay 12783195.90 PKR. This is 1308916 PKR, more than the old rate.
I guess now the situation is clear to you.
Conclusion
It is only logical that the team owners are worried. They are losing a lot of money because of the rupee devaluation. Najam Sethi has to look into this matter and resolve it if he wants his brainchild, the PSL, to make profits. It is doubt that PSL is the fruit of his hard work. And he has the opportunity to take it to new heights. Of course, things like these are out of anyone’s control. But, Mr. chairman can take necessary measures to make sure this tournament makes profits.
PSL will flourish for a long time if they sail through these hard times.