The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is struggling to find a suitable window for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 as the first few months of 2025 are already packed with matches.
The PSL is traditionally held by the PCB between January and March, usually starting in February and concluding in mid-March. However, this may not be the case for next year as there is already a jam-packed schedule, according to a local newspaper.
As Pakistan is set to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 during February and March, they have scheduled a multi-format series against South Africa in January after which they will head to New Zealand to play a white-ball series.
After that, just before the commencement of the Champions Trophy, a tri-nation series involving South Africa, and New Zealand will be hosted by Pakistan as part of preparation for the ICC event.
With three months packed with matches, concerns have been raised by franchise owners of PSL teams. The owners initially proposed to start the league at the end of January with its conclusion in February but the board refused their proposal.
As per the board, the tri-series is of significant importance as Pakistan will be hosting such a series for the first time since 2004.
The PCB now aims to host the PSL alongside IPL for next year. However, the franchise owners have raised concerns regarding this proposal as they believe that quality players may prefer IPL due to better compensation, which could potentially disrupt PSL’s quality and viewership.
It was also suggested that PSL should be held in September 2024 but the board dismissed this as England will tour Pakistan later this year to play a Test series while Pakistan will travel to Australia in November 2024.
There have been multiple meetings between the franchise owners and the PCB but no conclusion has been reached so far. It is yet to be seen when the PCB will decide to conduct PSL as it is likely to collide with other cricketing leagues, which could create problems in terms of viewership.
