KARACHI – Karachi Kings kickstarted Pakistan Super League 10 with a bang, outclassing Multan Sultans in the third game on April 12th, but franchise faced ire over bizarre gift to top scorer.
Kings clinched a thrilling win by chasing down a big target of 235 runs, with the standout performance coming from James Vince, who scored a fiery 101 runs off just 43 balls, including 4 sixes and 14 fours.
However, it was not Vince’s impressive batting performance that made headlines, but rather post-match reward he received. In a video shared on the Karachi Kings page, Vince was seen receiving a hair dryer as a prize for his match-winning performance. The gesture, meant to celebrate his achievement, was met with widespread mockery and backlash on social media.
As the video quickly went viral, fans and critics took to social media to express their disapproval. Many labeled the prize as “insulting” and “shameful,” questioning the professionalism of the league and its sponsors. Some fans took to the comments section, joking about Vince’s future plans, with one user sarcastically writing, “Is Vince going to open a hair salon in his country?” Another user criticized the decision, saying, “Stop embarrassing yourselves like this.”
The controversy further escalated when users compared the prize to the more lavish rewards given out in previous seasons. One fan pointed out that last season, former player Sameen Rana was gifting iPhone 15s to players, while this season’s rewards seemed less extravagant, leading to further criticism of the franchise’s branding and standards.
In response to the outrage, some fans called for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to step in and take action against the franchise for what they described as a “tarnishing” of PSL’s reputation. One comment urged the PCB to “take notice” and questioned the message being sent by such rewards.
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