The rift between Multan Sultans' co-owner Ali Khan Tareen and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has now come into the open in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). A legal notice was sent by PCB to Ali Tareen for being vocal in his criticism of PSL management.
In a bold move, Ali Khan Tareen tore apart the legal notice from PCB on camera and shared the video. He made it clear that he is not intimidated by threats. Tareen questioned the leadership of PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Tareen stated that the Pakistan Cricket Board is struggling to accept dissent or criticism. According to PCB sources, Tareen repeatedly voicing his opinions has damaged the league's reputation and violated franchise contract terms.
Ali Khan Tareen insists, 'If I refuse to retract my statements against the PSL management and don't apologize, our Multan Sultans franchise will be cancelled, and I will be blacklisted from PSL forever. This is the real problem, you want all of us to just agree blindly and punish anyone who criticizes.'
Frustrated by Hollow Promises, Ali Tareen
Ali Khan Tareen has been openly criticizing PSL's operational processes for the past year. In April, he shared a clip asking, 'How is PSL-10 bigger and better? Same teams, same matches, what's new? I'm tired of hollow promises. PCB had time to plan changes, but the same patterns were repeated. Our biggest brand deserves better.'
In July, the Pakistan Cricket Board released a video claiming the 10th season of PSL to be highly successful. Ali Khan Tareen mocked this video stating, 'TV ratings are dropping, audiences are decreasing, and digital engagement is waning. Facades won't work; genuine improvements are needed.'
Ali Khan Tareen claimed that the PSL management never attempted to communicate with him. Tareen states, 'To this day, no one made a phone call, sent a message, or even an email to discuss matters. They directly sent a legal notice. If you had any sense, you would know things aren't handled this way. If you think threatening me will silence me, you are wrong. I love PSL more than you do because it's the league of the people of Pakistan, not your private property. If you genuinely wanted, the issue could have been resolved through conversation.'
PCB demanded a public apology from Ali Khan Tareen, to which he sarcastically responded, 'My legal team says no apology is necessary as we did nothing wrong. Still, I generously apologize. I am sorry that I aimed to better the PSL. I am sorry for questioning your hollow praises.'
This controversy has erupted at a time when the franchise rights of PSL teams are up for renewal in December. If PCB blacklists Ali Khan Tareen, he won't be able to reap the benefits for Multan Sultans in future bids.
