Reportedly, members of the Pakistan cricket team are contemplating a boycott of sponsor logos and promotional commitments related to the 2023 Cricket World Cup due to ongoing issues with their central contracts. Earlier reports indicated that captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi were offered a monthly retainership fee of PKR 4.5 million each (approximately INR 13.22 lakh).
In contrast, Test cricketers were receiving 1.1 million rupees per month (around INR 3.2 lakh), and white-ball players were getting 0.95 million rupees (roughly INR 2.8 lakh). However, the central contracts have yet to be signed, leading to potential drastic decisions by Pakistan cricketers.
The report highlights that these cricketers have not received their monthly retainers for the past four months, creating financial challenges, especially for younger players.
Also read: When will Pakistan arrive in India for World Cup 2023?
One anonymous Pakistan cricket team player voiced their concerns, saying, “We are willing to represent Pakistan for free, but our question is why we should promote sponsors’ logos that are affiliated with the board. Similarly, we may decline to participate in promotional activities and other events. During the World Cup, we won’t engage in ICC’s commercial promotions and activities either.”
According to Cricket Pakistan, the cricketers have requested a share of the revenue that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to receive from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and sponsors, estimated at around 9.8 billion rupees, excluding sponsorship and revenue from bilateral series.