NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise owners have not yet agreed on the schedule for next year’s T20 tournament.
The proposed window of April-May may conflict with the Indian Premier League (IPL), raising concerns over player availability and viewership.
The PSL typically takes place in February-March, but next year’s tournament cannot be held during that time because of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and other international commitments.
Franchise owners are also awaiting their share of money from the central pool of revenues from the last PSL, where low crowd attendance at some venues raised issues.
“Holding the PSL in the same window as the IPL is a huge risk and the main issue could be availability of premium players, plus eyeballs on TV and digital media for the PSL matches,” said a franchise official, as quoted by PTI.
The PCB proposed the April-May window but franchise owners are still concerned about the clash with the IPL, which attracts top players and significant viewership. The PCB suggested that franchises might directly negotiate with foreign players to secure their participation before the IPL auction.
“We have been told we can at least confirm negotiations with 1-2 marque level players. But it is not final yet,” the official added.
PSL has been the PCB’s largest source of income since it started, but this dynamic changed in 2023. “For the first time in 2023 PSL was not the PCB’s biggest revenue generator, it was international cricket,” said another franchise official. In 2023, the PCB earned 3.35 billion from the PSL compared to 5.5 billion from international cricket.
The proposed window of April-May may conflict with the Indian Premier League (IPL), raising concerns over player availability and viewership.
The PSL typically takes place in February-March, but next year’s tournament cannot be held during that time because of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and other international commitments.
Franchise owners are also awaiting their share of money from the central pool of revenues from the last PSL, where low crowd attendance at some venues raised issues.
“Holding the PSL in the same window as the IPL is a huge risk and the main issue could be availability of premium players, plus eyeballs on TV and digital media for the PSL matches,” said a franchise official, as quoted by PTI.
The PCB proposed the April-May window but franchise owners are still concerned about the clash with the IPL, which attracts top players and significant viewership. The PCB suggested that franchises might directly negotiate with foreign players to secure their participation before the IPL auction.
“We have been told we can at least confirm negotiations with 1-2 marque level players. But it is not final yet,” the official added.
PSL has been the PCB’s largest source of income since it started, but this dynamic changed in 2023. “For the first time in 2023 PSL was not the PCB’s biggest revenue generator, it was international cricket,” said another franchise official. In 2023, the PCB earned 3.35 billion from the PSL compared to 5.5 billion from international cricket.
