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 | | Monday, 13 May, 2002, 14:58 GMT 15:58 UK Pakistan cricket in crisis  New Zealand left immediately after the Karachi blast The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is to adopt emergency financial measures following the bomb attack in Karachi and subsequent cancellation of the second Test against New Zealand. "The financial implications of the Karachi events last week are severe and far reaching for Pakistan Cricket," PCB director Brigadier Munawwer Rana told BBC Sport Online. The Board reviewed the current situation and future implications at a meeting in the capital, Islamabad. The New Zealand team left Pakistan's coastal city last Wednesday after a car bomb killed 14 people near the team's hotel just hours before the Test match was due to begin.
Rana said the projected losses following the bomb attack were huge and the board was now devising an emergency plan, including cost-cutting measures. "The losses of Karachi's cancelled Test run into several hundred thousand US dollars," Rana said. "We planned tickets sales for 13 days of play plus advertising and television revenues, five days of which have been wiped out. "This is a very serious blow to our finances and we are trying to find some solutions," he said. Bankruptcy Soon after the bomb attack and departure of the New Zealand team, reports suggested that the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) was also reviewing their scheduled tour in October. The PCB fears bankruptcy if Australia cancel their Pakistan tour scheduled for October this year for security reasons or insist to play at a neutral venue. "No, we haven't received any firm decision from the Australian authorities so far, nor have we contacted them after Wednesday last," Rana added.
"Obviously, we want them to come to Pakistan and play Tests here. We will contact them very soon about this. "And if that tour is called off or the two countries play at a neutral place, it will be another huge loss. "Off hand, I couldn't give you any firm figure, but the losses may easily run into more than a million dollars. The PCB says it has also suffered a loss of approximately $ 20-25 millions over the last two years because of Indian refusal to play in scheduled tournaments and the loss of home seroes in Pakistan. It has also approached the International Cricket Conference (ICC) for compensation - a request the ICC is to take up later this month. Rana said the PCB was also negotiating a sponsorship deal with the Al-Raee group of Saudi Arabia. "But at the moment, negotiations for investment into cricket's infra-structure are in the preliminary stages." He said the PCB had also finalised its programme to launch four regional and one national cricket academies from 1 June. | |
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