Pakistan Reaps USD 2.6 Million Profit From Twenty20 League
Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman Najam Sethi described the profit made from the Twenty20 league as a welcome sign
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: May 05, 2016 02:59 PM IST
Highlights
- Pakistan Super League makes profit of USD 2.6 million
- The five-team event was held in the United Arab Emirates in February
- Islamabad beat Quetta to win the inaugural PSL
Pakistani cricket officials announced on Tuesday an overall profit of USD 2.6 million from the country's first ever Twenty20 league.
The five-team franchise-based event was held in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year in an attempt to boost Pakistan's cricket standards, which have been badly hit by the suspension of international tournaments since the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore.
Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman Najam Sethi described the profit as a welcome sign.
"Fortunately we had a USD 2.6 million dollar profit but since the franchises incurred some losses we decided to give USD 2 million to them and reduced our profit to USD 0.6 million," Sethi said at a news conference.
He said around USD 6 million was earned from television rights and gate money.
Islamabad beat Quetta to win February's inaugural PSL, which featured top international players such as Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Shakib Al Hasan.
Sethi said a sixth team was likely to be added next year after negotiations.
"PSL was successful and there is huge demand to add one more team," he added.
Sethi said Pakistan's young cricketers would benefit from the PSL, just as the Indian Premier League had helped India, by allowing them to play alongside experienced international stars.