The Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Super League franchises are yet to reach a final consensus on deciding the scheduling for the upcoming PSL 2025. The proposed window of the tournament in April and May is set to clash with the Indian Premier League, which is a huge risk for the PSL, a franchise official said.
The next PSL can't be held in its normal time period of February and March due to the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in the country along with International matches. "Holding the PSL in the same window as the IPL is a huge risk and the main issue could be the availability of premium players, plus eyeballs on TV and digital media for the PSL matches," an official with a franchise said as quoted by PTI.
He said that the Pakistan Board had discussed hosting the tournament in April and May but the franchise owners are having reservations over it as it would lead to a clash with the Indian cash-rich league. He added that the Board has informed the franchises that they can negotiate with the foreign players on their availability 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," he said.
PSL, which gives the largest chunk of earnings to PCB, saw a surprise in 2023. "For the first time in 2023, PSL was not the PCB's biggest revenue generator, it was international cricket," another franchise official said.
PCB suspends National Junior Championship
The Pakistan Board has suspended the National Junior Championship a day after it began on Tuesday due to "due to unavoidable circumstances". The Pakistan Board did not give a detailed explanation of the suspension but teams and officials were left surprised by the move.
An insider said that the move was influenced by complaints received by chairman Mohsin Naqvi about issues in the selection of teams and also about over-age players and fake documentation. "The junior tournament is considered the backbone for producing the right talent for first-class cricket and international exposure by the board which is why despite a long process of selection, Mohsin Naqvi was disturbed when he received a number of complaints, some of which were authenticated to be correct," the insider said.
