The Sun Group, owners of the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Leeds, are no longer the only big-name Indian company with ties to Pakistan. Earlier this month, Sunrisers and Kavya Maran faced severe criticism after purchasing Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred auction.
Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, even went as far as saying that the Sunrisers will have blood on their hands if Pakistan claims the lives of Indians in the future. Despite watching from afar, Cribuzz, one of the world’s leading cricket news websites, has decided to partner up with the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Cricbuzz signs PSL broadcast deal
On March 23, Walee Technologies, media rights holder of the PSL until 2029, announced Cricbuzz as the official broadcast partner for the PSL 2026 season in North America and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries.
For the uninitiated, the Times Group, better known for owning the Times of India and Economic Times, is the majority owner of Cricbuzz. But that isn’t all. Dream Sports, parent company of Dream11, has a $50 million (approximately INR 468 crore approximately) investment in Cricbuzz and Willow TV by Cricbuzz.
Hypocrisy all around
The Times Group is currently in the running to acquire the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. The public was going wild over Sunrisers, but Times Group has a much larger impact on what happens in India, considering they own over 30 news portals in multiple languages across India.
It doesn’t end there. Earlier in the month, Cricbuzz was announced as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) official cricket app partner for IPL 2026. Just last year, RCB stood with India and against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in May 2025. Now, RCB is partnering up with Cricbuzz.
But the biggest irony of this all is Cricbuzz itself. Last year, the news outlet had delisted PSL from its coverage for the same reason RCB put up a post for the Indian armed forces. Yet, 10 months later, Cricbuzz, Times Group, and Dream Sports, who removed the PSL from Dream11, no longer have issues with the PSL or the lives of innocent Indians.
It isn’t about nationalism or patriotism; it’s about signalling. It means last year, Cricbuzz pulled out of the PSL not because of valuing Indian sentiment but because of fearing backlash and loss of money. But that episode is over; they have no issues with partnering up with Pakistan.
The wider Indian public should be criticised as well. They had no issues targeting the bigger name, Sunrisers, and Kavya Maran. Maran, in particular, was labelled as an anti-national or Pakistani. But will the same treatment be metered at Cricbuzz? Because SRH spent about INR 2.34 crore on Abrar. Meanwhile, the PSL deal is worth INR 218 crore annually. Even assuming North American and MENA markets are worth just 20 per cent, it’s about 10 times what Sunrisers paid Abrar.
And what about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)? How are they not criticised for playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup or ICC events? Projections suggest that the BCCI generated INR 8,963 crore in revenue in the 2025-26 financial year. That number is massive. For comparison, PCB has reported a net worth of PKR 1,500 crore. Why can’t the BCCI just boycott them? This question is for the wider public. They must criticise those in power instead of letting the anger out on the low-hanging fruit.
Cricket
IPL 2026: RCB, KSCA to honour 11 fans with memorial at M Chinnaswamy Stadium after stampede tragedy
