SA, Sri Lanka series` rights to bring PCB 10 mln dollars

The PCB is reportedly set to earn around ten million dollars from the sale of media, title and ground rights for its upcoming `home` series against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Islamabad: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly set to earn around ten million dollars from the sale of media, title and ground rights for its upcoming `home` series against South Africa and Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates starting from mid-October.

The PCB has reportedly managed to earn more than it expected from the two series, which it has been forced to organise in the UAE due to two nations` refusing to tour Pakistan because of security concerns. According to the Daily Times, a source said that the PCB sold its title, co-sponsor and other ground rights for around one million dollars and 250,000 dollars, while it sold the media rights for the two series for a total of eight million dollars and 777,000 dollars to a Dubai-based channel and a Pakistan media group respectively. The source further said that as the board`s long-standing four-year media rights/broadcasting contract with a Dubai-based company had ended in June this year, it decided to sell the media rights for both the series separately before inviting bids for another long-term contract. Stating that the entire process of inviting technical/financial bids and opening of the bidding process was independently monitored and overseen by an external auditor, the source further said that the process was conducted by the bids committee chaired by former President of ICC Ehsan Mani. The source also said that PCB caretaker chairman Najam Sethi did not get involved in the bid ding process. ANI