LAHORE (Kashmir English): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the owners of all eight franchises of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have considered a proposal to hold the tournament in January next year.
According to a report by cricket website Cricinfo, matters related to the next edition of the PSL were discussed at a meeting of the PSL Governing Council held in London.
According to the report, the governing council proposed to shift the PSL to January due to concerns about limited advertising revenue during April and May.
Franchise owners have expressed concern that, will they get their full share of the broadcast revenue regardless of the timing of the event. Questions are being raised on advertising revenue, especially since the revenue from TV rights is not as expected.
Under the current PSL agreement, all franchises get 95 percent of the broadcast revenue generated from the central revenue pool.
The first nine editions of the PSL were played during February and March. However, due to the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup this year, the tournament was shifted to April-May for the last two seasons. As a result, the PSL was played simultaneously with the Indian Premier League (IPL).
As per reports from Cricinfo, another advantage of having the PSL along with the IPL is that the foreign players will always be available; previously, the issue was the availability of players, as there used to be clashes between other T20 leagues across the globe.
This problem can crop up again in case of returning to the January-February window, as it would be difficult for the PSL to have foreign players because South Africa’s SA20 and Australia’s Big Bash League will fall under this schedule.
The report further adds that conducting the PSL in January can be problematic for the PCB in terms of administration as well as weather conditions because January and February are the coldest months in Punjab.
Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, among the four traditional venues for PSL, are situated in Punjab, and here the temperatures drop below single digits in January and February, and heavy fog can also create problems for the travel of players.
It is suggested that the tournament should first start in Karachi, where winters are relatively mild and then move to Punjab and Peshawar as the tournament progresses.
Pakistan currently has a clear international cricket window from mid-November to March, during which there are no home or away series scheduled.
The national team will host Sri Lanka and England in October and November, followed by a two-Test series against New Zealand in March. This will be Pakistan’s final Test assignment in the current World Test Championship cycle.
