The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a record profit from hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with officials stating that the board raked in PKR 3 billion (Rs 92.44 crore), hours after the BCCI declared a prize purse of Rs 58 crore for its players, who won the trophy.
PCB advisor Amir Mir also said that reports about Pakistan cricket bleeding money because of the Champions Trophy were propaganda.
The Telegraph Online had earlier reported that the PCB had burned through an estimated PKR 18 billion (Rs 555 crore) on stadium upgrades alone — 50 per cent over budget. Add another $40 million (Rs 333 crore) for event expenses, and the numbers went up to a PKR 30 billion (Rs 926 crore) in total spending because of the tournament.
What did the PCB get in return? A hosting fee of $6 million (Rs 50 crore) from the ICC and some amount from ticket sales. With this, Pakistan cricket suffered a loss of over $85 million (INR 73 crore). If cricket had a balance sheet, this one would be written in deep, dark red, according to reports.
But PCB spokesperson Amir Mir, who now claims that the ICC footed the bill for everything. The board also expects to receive another Rs 3 billion from the ICC after the audit.
“All expenses for the tournament were covered by the ICC..the PCB generated revenue through gate money and ticket sales. Additionally, after the audit, we expect to receive another Rs 3 billion from the ICC," Mir said.
Mir went on to declare that under chairman Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB’s total revenue for 2023-24 had hit Rs 10 billion — a 40 per cent increase from the previous year. And he stated that the PCB had paid PKR 40 million in taxes.
Mir also said that the PCB is now among the top three richest cricket boards in the world though reports suggest that the board slashed domestic players’ match fees by 90 per cent. The cuts were later revised after public backlash, but domestic players still found themselves earning less than before. The PCB also revised the players’ accommodations from five-star to budget hotels.
The Telegraph Online had reported that the board has money for its “mentors”—Misbah-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Saqlain Mushtaq—who reportedly pocket a cool PKR 5 million (Rs 50 lakh) per month.
The PCB has assured that all financial data will soon be made available on its website.