PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE

July 27, 2023 admin1

Brief History

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a men’s T20 cricket league founded by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2015. PSL is contested by six city-based franchise teams. Unlike other T20 leagues around the world, the PSL is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by investors of the franchises.

In every PSL season, each team plays the group stage matches in a double round-robin format, with the top four teams with the most points qualifying for the playoffs. The playoffs consist of an eliminator, a qualifier, and the final.

There have been eight seasons of the league till 2023, with Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars being the most successful teams, having won the title twice each. The current champions are Lahore Qalandars, who are the only team to have successfully defended their title.

ESTABLISHMENT OF PSL

In September 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board made an official announcement about the launch of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The league aimed to bring top-tier cricket action to the country and promote the sport on an international scale. To boost its visibility, former Pakistani national team captains, Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja, were appointed as brand ambassadors for the league, and committed to promoting it for three years.

The PSL had been in the planning stages for several years, with two previously unsuccessful attempts, but this time it finally became a reality. On 4th February 2016, the league commenced in the United Arab Emirates, and its opening ceremony was inaugurated by Sports Minister Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan. The first two seasons featured five teams, each representing the capital cities of Pakistan’s provinces and the Federal capital.

In its inaugural season, the PSL attracted a higher percentage of international players, adding to its global appeal. For player recruitment, the league adopted a draft system, similar to that used in many North American professional sports leagues, distinguishing it from the auction system employed by some other T20 leagues.

The PSL’s official logo was unveiled on 20th September 2015 in a grand ceremony held in Lahore, attended by current and retired cricketers, as well as Pakistani celebrities. This event marked the league’s official entry into the cricketing world.

The franchises’ commercial rights were sold for US$93 million for a period of 10 years in December 2015. Over the years, the market value of the PSL has surged significantly, reaching up to US$300 million in 2017, and continuing to grow in subsequent years, making it a major force in the world of T20 cricket.

EXPANSION OF PSL

In 2017, there were discussions about the possibility of adding a sixth team to the Pakistan Super League (PSL), with Azad Kashmir as a potential location. However, the idea was rejected in May 2016. Soon after the conclusion of the 2017 PSL, it was announced by Najam Sethi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), that a sixth team would be introduced in the next season of the league. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra also expressed interest in approaching the PSL administration for the participation of a sixth team in the 2018 PSL. Additionally, Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, mentioned the possibility of having the sixth team represent Gilgit-Baltistan. The PCB short-listed five names for the sixth team, which included Faisalabad, FATA, Hyderabad, Dera Murad Jamali, and Multan.

Finally, on 1st June 2017, the name of the sixth team for the PSL 2018 season was officially announced as Multan Sultans. The franchise was owned by Schön Properties at a cost of $5.2 million annually. However, on 10th November 2018, the PCB terminated the franchise agreements with Schön Properties, leading to the introduction of new owners. The new owners decided to retain the same name, Multan Sultans, for the franchise.

PROFIT TO PCB FROM PSL

Regarding the financial success of the league, in May 2016, the PCB reported profits of US$2.6 million from the inaugural season of the PSL. The league continued to thrive, and in the 2022 edition, which was held entirely in Pakistan, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja announced a significant 71 percent increase in the PSL’s profit. Each franchise received Rs. 900 million (US$3.1 million) in revenue before the start of the season. This substantial growth in profits reflected the league’s growing popularity and financial success.

PSL TEAMS

According to a press release by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), there was significant interest from around 20 parties to buy franchises for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) before its first season. The PCB began accepting tenders for franchises on 18th October 2015, with a deadline for bids set for 15th November of the same year. The bid winners were granted the rights to a franchise for a ten-year term, as stated by the PCB. Among the interested parties were well-known names such as the ARY Group, Omar Associates, Arif Habib Group, Haier, Mobilink, as well as international groups like Leonine Global Sports and the Qatar Lubricants Company (QALCO).

All five franchises for the first season were successfully sold on 3rd December 2015, with seven bidders presenting formal proposals. The total price paid for the five franchises was US$93 million. The franchises were allocated to the capital cities of Pakistan’s provinces and the Federal capital, representing different regions of the country.

In April 2017, the PCB invited bids for the sixth team, and there was significant interest from both national and international parties. As many as 40 parties expressed interest in buying the sixth franchise. Ultimately, on 1st June 2017, Multan was short-listed from five regions by the PCB, and it was bought by Schön Properties for a price of US$5.2 million per year, becoming the most expensive team in the PSL. However, due to payment issues, the rights to Multan were terminated by the PCB on 12th November 2018.

Following the termination, the PCB invited bids once again and subsequently resold the sixth team to the Ali Tareen consortium. The consortium successfully bid US$6.35 million for a period of seven years, securing the rights to the franchise on 20th December 2018.

Team	City/Province	Owner	Home ground	Captain	Coach
Islamabad United	Islamabad, Capital Territory	Leonine Global Sports	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi	Shadab Khan	Azhar Mahmood
Karachi Kings	Karachi, Sindh	Salman Iqbal	National Stadium, Karachi	Imad Wasim	Johan Botha
Lahore Qalanders	Lahore, Punjab	Fawad Rana	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Shaheen Afridi	Aaqib Javed
Multan Sultans	Multan, Punjab	Alamgir Khan Tareen	Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan	Mohammad Rizwan	Andy Flower
Peshawar Zalmi	Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Javed Afridi	Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar	Babar Azam	Daren Sammy
Quetta Gladiators	Quetta, Balochistan	Nadeem Omar	Bugti Stadium, Quetta	Sarfaz Ahmed	Moin Khan

Champions of PSL in different seasons

Season	No. of teams	Winner	Winning margin	Runner-up	Final Venue	Player of the Tournament
2016	5	Islamabad United	6 wickets	Quetta Gladiators	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai	Ravi Bopara (Karachi Kings)
2017	5	Peshawar Zalmi	58 runs	Quetta Gladiators	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Kamran Akmal (Peshawar Zalmi)
2018	6	Islamabad United	3 wickets	Peshawar Zalmi	National Stadium, Karachi	Luke Ronchi (Islamabad United)
2019	6	Quetta Gladiators	8 wickets	Peshawar Zalmi	National Stadium, Karachi	Shane Watson (Quetta Gladiators)
2020	6	Karachi Kings	5 wickets	Lahore Qalandars	National Stadium, Karachi	Babar Azam (Karachi Kings)
2021	6	Multan Sultans	47 runs	Peshawar Zalmi	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Sohaib Maqsood (Multan Sultans)
2022	6	Lahore Qalandars	42 runs	Multan Sultans	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans)
2023	6	Lahore Qalandars	1 run	Multan Sultans	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Ihsanullah (Multan Sultans)