The Auditor General of Pakistan has unearthed a series of financial irregularities running into millions of rupees within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), ranging from unauthorised appointments to questionable contracts and payments.
In a detailed audit report, the AG’s office pointed out that the PCB paid 63.39 million rupees to police authorities for meals while they were deployed for security duties during international matches — an expense flagged as irregular.
The report also cited the unauthorised appointment of three coaches for the under-16 age group at the High Performance Centre in Karachi, costing the board 5.4 million rupees in salaries.
Additionally, it highlighted the irregular awarding of ticketing contracts without inviting open competition, breaching standard procurement norms.
During that financial year i.e June 2023 and July 2024, the PCB has operated under two different chairmen — Zaka Ashraf and Mohsin Naqvi. This follows a turbulent leadership stretch since the removal of former Test captain Ramiz Raja as chairman in December 2022.
Since then, Najam Sethi led the board from December 2022 to June 2023, followed by Zaka Ashraf until January 2024, with Mohsin Naqvi assuming the post in February 2024.
The audit report further flagged an overpayment of 3.8 million rupees to match officials in match fees, the irregular appointment of a Director Media on a salary of 900,000 rupees per month, and unauthorised payments worth 4.17 million rupees to the PCB Chairman between February and June 2024.
The payments, covering utility charges, fuel and accommodation, were made even though the Chairman concurrently held the office of Interior Minister, under which such benefits were already provided by law.
This audit report sheds light on the important curious case of the Director Media’s appointment in October 2023. Despite the post being advertised on 17 August, the entire process — application, approval, appointment letter issuance, agreement signing, and the official joining — took place on a single day, 2 October 2023.
This is not the first time the Auditor General’s office has flagged irregular spending and governance concerns within the PCB. However, no board chairman has yet been held accountable. Both Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf have served multiple tenures despite similar past findings.
The audit further noted spending without authorisation or open bidding processes, including 19.8 million rupees spent on diesel for bulletproof vehicles provided by the Punjab government and 22.5 million rupees paid for the hiring of coasters.
It also reported a loss of 198 million rupees from the award of media rights at less than the reserved price, the irregular awarding of international broadcasting rights worth USD 99 million without open competition, and the non-recovery of outstanding sponsorship amounts totalling 5.3 billion rupees.
The PCB has yet to issue an official response to the audit report.