KARACHI – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is expected to carry out anaudit of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and all three editions of thePakistan Super League (PSL), a well-informed source told the media onThursday. The development is likely to take place after the arrival of thenew chairman.

According to details, the new Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar hassuggested a detailed audit of PCB and all editions of the PSL by SBP.

The source further added that the finance minister wants the SBP to conductthe audit in the same manner as they conduct for the other banks. The PCBchairman will be elected on September 4 and as soon as he takes the charge,he is likely to call a meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) where thefinance minister’s suggestion is likely to be approved. It is important tomention here that the audit of PSL’s first two editions was already carriedout by Auditor General of Pakistan on the suggestion of the NationalAssembly Committee.

In that report, significant discrepancies have been revealed, where fewmajor contracts were awarded without publishing a proper call for tenders,which led to heavy financial losses for the cricket board. The reportfurther stated that many appointments on important positions were based onfavouritism while production and ticketing matters were not handledproperly.

The selections of Naila Bhatti — Director Marketing — and Usman Wahla —General Manager International Cricket Operations — were specificallymentioned. The audit raised questions over their appointments as far morequalified individuals were available to take up those roles.

It must be noted that Bhatti — who enjoyed a close relationship with formerPCB Chairman Najam Sethi — was appointed as a director despite holding onlya bachelor’s degree which is against the rules and regulations of PCB.

The sources further stated that the audit pointed out unnecessary expensesduring the local and foreign visits made by the board officials whereasthere were also reservations over salaries and bonuses given to certainemployees. The massive amounts spent on organising opening ceremonies wereanother major cause of concer