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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been under huge confusion over the schedule and fixtures of their premier franchise cricket league named the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The 11th edition of the league had gained some broadcast revenues and also had good marketing but could not match the level of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Now, for the 12th edition, the current franchise owners and the cricket committee are discussing the positives and negatives of hosting the tournament alongside the IPL or returning to its traditional February-March slot.
The last edition had run simultaneously with the IPL but finished a few weeks before the IPL final. They recorded an unprecedented pre-tax profit of over INR 7.549 billion, representing a massive leap from INR 2 billion.
PSL to have new window?
As per reports from the Tribune, the PCB and the tournament's franchise members had a meeting, with a final decision likely following more discussion by the cricket committee. The PSL 10 and the previous edition were both staged in the April-May window, and it overlapped with the IPL as they moved away from their traditional February-March schedule.
If they want to return to the February-March window in 2027, it will not conflict with the rich cash league; this will increase the possibility of getting the full availability of overseas players, who eventually back out after signing with PSL to play in the IPL for better exposure and monetary terms. It will also give the sponsors some gain and improved commercial opportunities.
Why did PSL shift from February-March window?
But there has been a problem if they shift the tournament back to its original month, as during that time they have Ramadan going on, which will create problems for the logistical and scheduling challenges, as the majority of the players keep fast during the daytime and do not take anything in terms of food and water until the sun goes down.
Apart from that, if they host the tournament in April-May, it will clash with the best T20 league in the world, and they would get very few good overseas players throughout the tournament.
PSL to have new format
They are yet to take a final call before finalizing the schedule for the next edition of the league. They also had a strategic expansion from six to eight franchise teams, adding the Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindi Pindiz in the last edition of the league.
Except for the scheduling in the meeting, they discussed the possible change in the format. As they plan to introduce a Super Six stage to the PSL, in the league as of now the format is that four teams qualify for the knockout stages, and the rest is the same as the IPL playoffs format.
The Super Six stage will bring in more excitement, as it is stuck on one problem: if they solve the outstanding financial matters involving one of the league's commercial stakeholders, the new format can be very much viable.
