ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly fined each player about $18,000 after the team failed to advance to the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals.
The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday that PCB “officials have made it clear to players that enough care has been taken – from now on, financial benefits will only come with performance”.
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According to reports, the Pakistan team decided to fine players after losing to their archrival India in the group match on February 15. But after the team qualified for the Super Eights, the players were told that the fine would be waived if Pakistan reached the semi-finals.
Pakistan needed to beat hosts Sri Lanka by 65 runs in their final group match to advance to the semi-finals ahead of New Zealand, but narrowly escaped with five straight wins.
PCB officials told the competition panel that if they accept rewards for good performance, “they will also have to pay penalties for poor performance,” the report said.
The fines reportedly include at least one standout player – Sahibzada Farhan, who broke India’s Virat Kohli’s record for most runs in a T20 World Cup and ended the tournament with 383 runs, including two centuries and two half-centuries.
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The sport’s national governing body did not respond to a request for comment.
This is the fourth consecutive time that Pakistan has missed the semi-finals of a major ICC event. Pakistan has not defeated India in a major tournament since 2022.
Shortly after the Asia Cup final defeat to India last year, the PCB briefly suspended players’ permission to participate in T20 leagues around the world, but later allowed players to participate in tournaments such as the Big Bash in Australia.
Last year, the PCB removed Category A players from the list of 30 centrally signed players and relegated Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam to Category B players.
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