PCB slashes player match fees by 75% for National T20 Cup

The PCB has slashed match fees for players participating in the upcoming National T20 Cup. Players in the tournament will be paid match fees of PKR 10,000 (US$ 35 approx.), a 75% fall from the last edition of the tournament, where players were paid match fees of PKR 40,000.

It is an even bigger cut when compared to 2022, when players were paid PKR 60,000 as match fees for the tournament. Reserve players in the squad in this edition will be paid PKR 5000 (approx. US$ 17.50) per match.

The cut in match fees feels more drastic when looking at the high spends at the PCB under current chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

Last year, shortly after becoming chair, he said the money in PCB's accounts was not meant to be "locked away" and would be spent on the players and in the service of Pakistan cricket.

Since then, the PCB has embarked upon expensive but necessary stadium upgrades, and hired - and soon let go of - foreign coaches on expensive contracts, as well as five mentors on PKR 5 million a month each. It has also hosted a domestic one-day tournament that increased the prize money to participants tenfold.

A PCB official told ESPNcricinfo that the decision to cut match fees for the National T20 Cup was not an outcome of financial concerns. Instead, the PCB feels the players' earning opportunities over the season have risen with more tournaments in the domestic calendar, including the Champions T20 Cup, which took place in December 2024 (but with only five teams).

The Champions Cup format of five elite teams of players is replicated in both a 50-over and first-class tournament. With a number of players also employed by a department (for tournaments such as the President's Trophy) which pays them a monthly salary, the board believes the drop in match fees did not amount to an overall drop in earnings.

The National T20 Cup starts on March 14, with 39 matches across three cities: Faisalabad, Lahore and Multan. The final will take place in Faisalabad on March 27. Several leading Pakistan international cricketers will be unable to feature, with the national side having left for New Zealand for five T20Is and three ODIs.