The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is struggling to find a sponsor for the side, after only one company showed interest during the bidding process.
The PCB’s last sponsorship contract, with a beverage company, has already expired, which is why the Pakistan squad, in England, has no logo on its training kits.
Alarmingly, the company that stepped up in the bidding process has valued the deal at only 30 per cent as compared to the previous contract.
According to the PCB’s marketing department the coronavirus pandemic is the major reason for the lack of interest from companies. Although, it must be noted that PCB also failed to attract sponsors for its new domestic cricket structure.
PCB is hopeful that they will get a sponsor on board before the beginning of the England series.
Players also gain from this sponsorship deal as they receive around Rs.450,000 in Test matches and Rs.225,000 in One-day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
More positive news for Pakistan cricket was that Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz have arrived in England, after having twice testing negative for Covid-19.
The players were retested on Monday, 29 June, following a first negative test on June 26.
Pakistan had earlier named a 29-member squad for the tour, but following advice from sports science experts and the UK government, players who had tested positive, during the initial PCB testing process, were unable to travel.
Meanwhile, the 20-player Pakistan squad, which arrived in England on June 28, is currently training at the County Ground, New Road, in Worcester during their 14-day isolation period. The side will move to the Incora County Ground in Derby on July 13.
The first Test match will be played on August 5 at Old Trafford in Manchester. Pakistan will play the second and third Tests at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, starting on August 13 and 21 respectively.
Pakistan will also play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in Southampton on August 29, 31 and September 2.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
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