Pakistan Super League from papers tables to reality

Pakistan Super League from papers tables to reality: It’s happening. It’s all mapped out. It’s just a whisker away and suddenly things didn’t go well. Again, the process of ifs and buts regarding Pakistan Cricket Board hosting a world class premier T20 league starts. Finally all the climax leading to Pakistan Super League have seen an end after the head of PCB Executive Committee Najam Sethi announced the dates and venues for Pakistan’s 1^st premier T20 tournament in a press conference on Wednesday.

As reported earlier, inaugural edition of the ‘Pakistan’ Super League will not be played in Pakistan, even not in the UAE (Pakistan’s second home since 2009) but in Qatar.

“The wait is now over and we are here to tell you of our intent to stage the PSL next year. The way we see it, the PSL is not just about cricket. It is a unique blend of entertainment and cricket which will be the most exciting Pakistani product. After extensive negotiations with various stakeholders, the Pakistan Super League governing council has decided to lock Doha as its preferred location for the tournament. The five-team tournament will take place in February next year with a total of 24 matches scheduled to take place in the first edition. We are starting with five teams in order to build the value of our franchises and will expand the number of teams in the coming editions.” – Najam Sethi in the press conference

Doha’s Asian Town Cricket Stadium is expected to host all 24 of the day/night fixtures as the Qatari officials believe that the event would be a hit based upon the 90,000 Pakistani emigrants in the Gulf country including more than half a million residents from India, 150,000 from Bangladesh and 100,000 from Sri Lanka – all of them cricket lovers.

As of now, the Pakistan Super League team has received consent from over 40 international players while top foreign coaches are also being roped in for the first edition of the PSL, which will carry collective prize money of up to $1 million. In line with the tournament’s commercial plan, rights for broadcast, sponsorship and franchise ownership will be auctioned over the next three months.

With the event venue locked, the formal PSL launch is expected to take place in Lahore in the third week of September.

Proficient Highlights of the Pakistan Super League are:

• The inaugural edition will be played in Doha, Qatar.
• Five teams which include the provincial capitals Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar and the national capital Islamabad will feature in the first edition. Najam Sethi further expressed that the number of participant teams can be increased in coming seasons.
• The tournament would be a franchise-based Twenty 20 league played under laws as per ICC.
• The tournament will start on February 4, 2016 and feature 24 high intensity matches with the final on 24^th of the same month.
• Forty ‘top international players’ have, until now, submitted their consent to play PSL.
• PCB believes the inaugural edition will feature players from every test playing nation except India.
• Top international officials and coaches will be roped in to further enhance the essence of the tournament.
• The tournament will carry collective prize money of up to $ 1 million.
• The ‘A to Z explanation’, the franchise names and commercial rights will be explained later in September.