Pakistan Women players due four months' salary, PCB says ‘work in progress’

Pakistan kicked off their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a 31-run win over Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 3. However, there are some monetary complications concerning payments from the board to the players which has garnered attention lately. The issue has been escalated over a period of over four months and the players have entered the marquee event expecting due clearance from the board.

They haven’t been paid since June 2024 and PCB hasn’t yet announced anything on it. In a statement, they clarified that it’s a work in progress and assured that as soon as the lists are finalised and approved, they will quickly act on it. However, they claimed that too many things are happening and for the same reason, it won’t be possible for them to pinpoint a date.

“It is a work in progress. As soon as the lists are finalised and approved, contracts will be offered with effect from 1 July 2024. There is too much going on and there is lack of time to address all matters,” PCB told in a statement to Cricbuzz.

Money delayed, not win

The salary due however didn’t impact their performance on the field. After a poor show in the warm-up games, the Sana Fatima-led side stepped up against Sri Lanka and got the job done. The captain led from the front and scored 30 runs off 20 deliveries to help the team post 116 runs on board in the first innings. Former captain and veteran cricketer Nida Dar scored 22 off 23 balls.

Sri Lanka were expected to chase it down but their batting unit failed to step up. Chamari Athapaththu departed after scoring six runs and the wickets fell quickly after that. Opener Vishmi Gunaratne made 20 runs off 34 balls, which put the team on the back foot. Nilakshi de Silva made 22 runs but it wasn’t enough. Nine of Sri Lanka batters scored in single digits, which cost them the game. Sadia Iqbal picked up three wickets for Pakistan.