The Medical Panel was incompetent, this resignation was long overdue.
The Medical Panel is supposed to be composed of various people specializing in sports sciences, but with a pandemic, it has to have a group of disease specialists regarding viral infections and more. On top of that, there must be medical advisors which report to the head of the Medical Panel with their thoughts and what should happen. The Medical Panel must then approach the CEO of the PCB to determine what rules and regulations exist.
The Medical Advisors in the PCB thought that a 3-day quarantine period was suitable, when in reality, 3-5 days is just the incubation period for the virus. Symptoms and test results can only be trusted after 7 days, that too as a minimum. That was the first of many blunders. Secondly, it was not the PCB CEO Wasim Khan who chose to book out half of a hotel, it was due to the knowledge he received from the Medical Panel who believed that they could succeed in that aspect with only half a hotel. That was the second blunder.
Now, the man-to-man management of the Medical Panel was atrocious. The Medical Panel in times of a virus or a pandemic needs to make sure that players are well informed about what happens, and they need to make sure that man-to-man management is at the best level because contact tracing only occurs with a clear record and history of where the individual has been and who the individual has come in contact with. They failed in this aspect as well.
Now, let's look at the failures of the PCB in general. The Hamare Heroes sideline show allowed people not existing within the bubble to interact with the players. Similarly, the PCB bowed down to Javed Afridi, and even the franchises were braindead, particularly LQ for playing a COVID-19 positive Haris Rauf. Similarly, Fawad Ahmed, even after demonstrating symptoms of COVID-19, was still allowed to have breakfast with the IU squad. That's the man-to-man management failing there again. Next, the players who are COVID positive had their identities undisclosed. In a private illness which cannot be contracted by others, doctors and the medical panel are allowed to keep secrecy with the patient. However, if these players have diseases which are transmittable, it is the duty of the medical panel to inform the rest of the players and staff so that they can know if they were in contact, or if someone else was in contact with that other player. After the first two cases in two separate franchises (Banton + Fawad), the PSL should have been delayed so that the PCB Medical Panel could investigate sources and possible players who contracted the virus. If there were suspicions that there were players who could have contracted the virus, the players should have been sidelined as the incubation period is 3-5 days, and the symptoms start showing near 7 days.
The PCB failed in all aspects hosting the PSL, and those were just the mistakes they made. Let me talk about the loss of investments like you mentioned.
Firstly, the PSL's brand name and value has been hit severely. Already the team sponsors are not of high international quality, and with such a hit, it has only shown that teams might lose sponsors and a chunk of investment along with it.
Secondly, franchises invested time and money into the league, and are probably running on deficits at the moment, so there's that issue as well.
Furthermore, the PSL secured broadcasting deals from Sky Sports, Sony Ten, PTV Sports, and more. These broadcasters will only pay their due increment when the entire PSL is completed, and so the payment delays are present. Furthermore, there is a possibility (not likely IMO) that some of the broadcasters could pull out of their deals if they think that they aren't making enough revenue. I doubt this will happen because of Pakistan's packed international schedule ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Lastly, there is one aspect where the PCB has failed miserably and that is on the image and reputation of Pakistan being able to host international cricket, especially if this pandemic is prolonged. After successful efforts of bringing SL, BD, SAF, ZIM to Pakistan, we needed a well-managed PSL to bring more teams here without fear of COVID-19. We failed in this aspect, and we should all hope that international teams still send their squads to play, otherwise there will be further financial problems.
The best way to bring back the reputation of PSL is through the fans. If PSL can attract the fans once more, then the revenue will start coming back, and through fans there will be more international attention, allowing the PCB to preserve their broadcasting deals and hopefully not repeat the same mistakes again.
Yet, someone has to be answerable for this, whether it's Wasim Khan, Ehsan Mani, or the Medical Panel. Maybe all three.
