(Urdu: پاکستان سپر لیگ; Sindhi: پاڪستان سپر ليگ, PSL) is a men's professional Twenty20 cricket league, sanctioned by the Pakistan Cricket Board, that represents the sport's highest level in Pakistan. The league was founded in Lahore on 8 September 2015 and presently comprises 6 teams. Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, the league is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by investors.
The commercial rights to the initial franchises were sold for US$93 million for a span of 10 years in December 2015. The market value of PSL in 2017 was up to US$300 million, according to Arif Habib.[3]
The PSL season runs between the months of February and March, with each team playing 10 matches in double round robin format; the top 4 teams with the best record qualify for the Playoffs and culminates in the championship game, the PSL Cup Final. The league's head offices are directed out of the Pakistan Cricket Board head office in Lahore. Due to security reasons, the first season was played entirely in the United Arab Emirates. The inaugural champions were Islamabad United. Peshawar Zalmi were the 2017 PSL Champions, having defeated Quetta Gladiators in Lahore on 5 March 2017.
Establishment[edit]
In September 2015, the PCB officially announced the launch of the PSL. Former Pakistani national team captains Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja signed up to promote the PSL and become brand ambassadors of the league for three years.[4]
After several years of planning and two previous failed attempts,[5][6] the league officially began on 4 February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates where Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, alongside Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, inaugurated the opening ceremony.[7]. The first two seasons included five teams nominally based in Pakistani cities.[8][9] In its first season the PSL had a higher percentage of international players. The league uses a draft system for player recruitment similar to that used in many North American professional sports leagues and as opposed to the auction system used in some other T20 leagues.[10]
The PSL's official logo was launched on 20 September 2015 in a ceremony in Lahore, and was revealed by 3Di.[11] The ceremony was attended by current and retired cricketers, as well as Pakistani celebrities.
Expansion[edit]
The possibility of adding a sixth team to the league in 2017,[12] possibly in Kashmir, was also under discussion, but was rejected by the middle of May 2016.[13][14][15]
Sethi announced that there would be the sixth team in next season of PSL, few days after 2017 PSL held. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra announced that the PSL administration will be approached for the participation of team FATA as the sixth team in PSL 2018. He said PSL administration will be approached for the participation of FATA Team.[16][17] Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, also said to have the sixth team from Gilgit-Baltistan. PCB short-listed five names for sixth team; Faisalabad, FATA, Hyderabad, Dera Murad Jamali and Multan.[18]
The final name of the sixth team for PSL 2018 season was announced on 1 June 2017; Multan Sultans; owned by Schön Properties at $5.2 million annually.[19][20]
Profits[edit]
In May 2016, the PCB officially announced that the inaugural season of the PSL yielded profits of US$2.6 million.[21] However, profits for the 2017 season were not officially disclosed.
Format[edit]
The PSL is played in a double round-robin format. Every team plays each other twice and the top four advance to the Playoffs.
The league follows the rules and regulations dictated by the ICC, although it introduced DRS system in T20s which was later emulated by ICC as well. In the group stage, two points are awarded for a win, one for a no-result and none for a loss. In the event of tied scores after both teams have faced their quota of overs, a super over is used to determine the match winner. In the group stage teams are ranked on the following criteria:
- Higher number of points
- If equal, better run rate
- If equal, highest number of wins
- If equal, least number of losses
- If still equal, the results of head to head meeting
In any play-off match in which there is no result, a super over is used to determine the winner. If the super over is not possible or the result of the over is a tie, the team which finished in the highest league position at the end of the regular season is deemed the winner of the match.
Teams[edit]
According to a PCB press release, around 20 parties showed an interest in buying franchises for the league before the first season.[22] On 18 October 2015 the Pakistan Cricket Board began accepting tenders for franchises with a deadline for bids of 15 November.[23]
According to a statement by the PCB, bid winners would be granted the rights to a franchise for a term of ten years.[24]Interested parties included the ARY Group, Omar Associates, Arif Habib Group, Haier, Mobilink as well as international groups including Leonine Global Sports and the Qatar Lubricants Company (QALCO).[25]
All five franchises for the first season of the league were sold on 3 December 2015, for a total price of US$93 million, after seven bidders presented formal proposals.[26][27]
In April 2017, PCB invited bids for the sixth team and the deadline set for the submission of both the financial and technical proposals was May 30 and as many as 40 national and international parties expressed an interest in buying the sixth franchise.[28]
On 1 June 2017, from five regions short-listed by PCB Multan was bought by Schön Properties for a price of US$5.2 million per year becoming the most expensive team of the PSL.[29]
Results[edit]
Season results[edit]
| Season | No. of teams | Final | Venue | Player of the series | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Winning margin | Runner-up | ||||
| 2016 Details | 5 |  Islamabad United175/4 (18.4 overs) | 6 wickets (scorecard) |  Quetta Gladiators174/7 (20 overs) | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |  Ravi Bopara (Karachi Kings) |
| 2017 Details | 5 |  Peshawar Zalmi148/6 (20 overs) | 58 runs (scorecard) | Quetta Gladiators 90 (16.3 overs) | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |  Kamran Akmal (Peshawar Zalmi) |
Team results[edit]
| Teams | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Islamabad United | W | 4th | |
 Karachi Kings | 4th | 3rd | |
 Lahore Qalandars | 5th | 5th | 6th |
 Multan Sultans | – | – | |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 3rd | W | |
| Quetta Gladiators | R | R |
Debutant teams[edit]
| Year | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators |
| 2018 | Multan Sultans |
Overview[edit]
The table below provides an overview of the performances of teams. Teams are sorted by best performance, then by total number of wins, total number of games, and alphabetical order respectively.
| Appearances | Statistics | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Total | First | Latest | Best result | Mat. | Won | Lost | Tied | Tie&W | Tie&L | NR | Win%* |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 3 | 2016 | 2018 | Champions (2017) | 26 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 60.00 |
| Islamabad United | 3 | 2016 | 2018 | Champions (2016) | 25 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54.00 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 3 | 2016 | 2018 | Runners-up (2016, 2017) | 25 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 58.33 |
| Karachi Kings | 3 | 2016 | 2018 | Play-offs (2016, 2017) | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43.47 |
| Lahore Qalandars | 3 | 2016 | 2018 | Group Stage (2016, 2017) | 21 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23.80 |
| Multan Sultans | 1 | 2018 | 2018 | - | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 |
| Last Updated: 4 March 2018 Source: [30] | ||||||||||||
Individual awards[edit]
The Hanif Mohammad award and a green cap are awarded to the leading run-scorer. It is an ongoing competition with the leading run-scorer wearing the cap throughout the tournament until the final game, with the eventual winner keeping the cap and receiving the award for the season.[31] The Fazal Mahmood award and a maroon cap are awarded to the leading wicket-taker in the same way[32] whilst the Imtiaz Ahmed award is awarded to the best wicket-keeper. All three awards were introduced in the 2017 Pakistan Super League season.[33]
Team records[edit]
| Team | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Tie&W | Tie&L | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islamabad United | 2016–present | 25 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54.00 |
| Karachi Kings | 2016–present | 24 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43.47 |
| Lahore Qalandars | 2016–present | 21 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23.80 |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 2016–present | 27 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 57.69 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 2016–present | 25 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 58.33 |
| Multan Sultans | 2018–present | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 80.00 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo; Last Updated: 7 March 2018
Note:
- Tie&W and Tie&L indicates matches tied and then won or lost by "Super Over"
- The result percentage excludes no results and counts ties (irrespective of a tiebreaker) as full win.
Sponsorship[edit]
The PSL's initial title sponsorship was awarded to HBL Pakistan for three years in December 2015.[34] Sponsorship deals associated with the league including the title sponsorship, are estimated to be worth more than $6 million.[35]
Broadcast[edit]
For the first three seasons of the league, Sunset + Vine were awarded production rights as official broadcasters, and PTV Sports, Ten Sports and Geo Super were awarded broadcast rights in Pakistan. The value of the broadcasting deal was US$15 million, with the PCB selling the global television rights to Tech Front, a UAE group.[36]
In 2017, DSports (India) bought the broadcasting rights of PSL, becoming the first channel in India to do so.
Matches streamed live in Pakistan on YouTube, and on PSL official site and app through cricketgateway.pk; while streamed globally on cricketgateway.com.[37][38]
| Territory | Years | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 2016–present | PTV Sports Ten Sports Geo Super |
 Afghanistan | 2017–present | Moby |
 Australia | 2017–present | Channel 44 |
 Bangladesh | 2016–present | Gazi TV |
 Canada | 2017–present | Sportsnet Willow TV |
 Caribbean | 2016–present | Flow TV |
 India | 2018-present | DSport[39] |
 Kenya | 2017–present | Star Times |
 Middle East & North Africa | 2016–present | OSN Sports |
 New Zealand | 2017–present | Sky Sport |
 South Africa | 2017–present | Star Times SuperSport |
 Sri Lanka | 2016–present | Ten Sports CSN Dialog TV |
 United Kingdom | 2016–present | Prime TV: Sky 792 A-Plus TV Channel 44 UK |
 USA | 2017–present | A-Plus TV Willow TV [Yupp TV]] |
 Zimbabwe | 2017–present | SuperSport |
Advertising rights for the first three years of the league's operation were awarded to Pakistani company Blitz Advertising.[40]
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