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2026: Is it going to be the worst edition of PSL?

I am not going to support PindizZz and StallionzZz - Will you?

  • Yes, names do not matter

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • No, they sound cringe

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • Total voters
    8
Ball Blazer

Ball Blazer

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This is shaping up to be the most chaotic and least creative edition of the PSL yet, and it all started with the embarrassing Multan Sultans saga — from Ali Tareen publicly tearing a PCB note and sending terrible signals about the league worldwide, to his dramatic split from Multan Sultans, and then the franchise suddenly going into new bids only to be awkwardly replaced by Rawalpindi… and rebranded as “Pindiz”? Seriously?

While the auction had its entertaining moments, what exactly was the strategic vision behind randomly attaching Houston to Hyderabad or slapping Stallionz onto Sialkot? It feels less like expansion and more like a branding experiment gone wrong.

The chaos didn’t stop there — Ali Tareen Lite (sorry, Kamil Khan), hyper-active on social media, abruptly exits claiming the decision was made “long ago,” even though the franchise isn’t even six months old. Add Wasim Akram walking away from Sialkot to the mix, and instead of building stability and credibility, the league looks like it’s improvising its own script in real time — hardly the image a premier tournament should be projecting.

Is PSL in wrong hands this year?
 
Yeah format seems a joke, team names are a joke, just generally it seems a joke. I think they should have gone with 1 extra team for a few years rather than 2 and they should have been more careful about who they gave the franchise rights to ie not a bunch of jokers who would call their business 'Pindiz' or 'Stallionz'
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
What's the new format?
Click to expand...
I think the first round is pretty much friendlies where everyone plays each other or 7 games

And then there is a proper league round where everyone qualifies and plays 3 games each towards play off (top 4)

So basically you can lose all games in the first round, but win 2/3 in the next one and play the play offs.
 
Rana said:
I think the first round is pretty much friendlies where everyone plays each other or 7 games

And then there is a proper league round where everyone qualifies and plays 3 games each towards play off (top 4)

So basically you can lose all games in the first round, but win 2/3 in the next one and play the play offs.
Click to expand...
That makes absolutely no sense as a format. What's the point of the first round?
 
The threat of this being a financial disaster like the Schonn Group one is real.

Qalandars have an ownership dispute which may create negative press.
No one is really sure who owns the Stallions.
The old franchises have an unfair advantage in terms of franchise fee and they dominate the council by 5-3 which means reaching consensus on financial decisions will almost be impossible.
Removal of Multan as a home team will 100% impact ground attendance if that stadium is still hosting games.
Didn't know about the format & still don't understand it fully but it looks dodgy.
 
Naqvi just trying to show efficiency that he's doing something. I guess getting something done is at least better than only getting it done once it's perfect.

Some positives though - foreign Pakistani investors are interested and possibly even non Pakistanis if PSL management plays their cards right. Since we have a Houston team, add a team from the Arab countries. Something like Dubai Dynamites or Riyadh Royals would give the PSL a global appeal and attract Arab money. Hold a PSL opener in Saudi
 
I don't like the names, nor will I support any single team... I am not interested in following a single team... May the best team wins.
 
WHats the need to wrist slit so early? Sure there has been some hiccups but not one ball has been bowled and we are saying it has potential to be the worst ever. Based on some financial deals that went wrong, and Ali Tareens tweets?
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
The threat of this being a financial disaster like the Schonn Group one is real.

Qalandars have an ownership dispute which may create negative press.
No one is really sure who owns the Stallions.
The old franchises have an unfair advantage in terms of franchise fee and they dominate the council by 5-3 which means reaching consensus on financial decisions will almost be impossible.
Removal of Multan as a home team will 100% impact ground attendance if that stadium is still hosting games.
Didn't know about the format & still don't understand it fully but it looks dodgy.
Click to expand...
Multan people are very hurt still after their removal
And changed to that stupid pindiz name

Don't think so many people will be watching in Multan after this
 
Dont be surprised if Stallionz gets an ownership change in the middle of a game , comical stuff
 
So PSL a couple of weeks away, A season where Multan vanished and Sialkot was born, Then Multan was purchased as Pindiz and Sialkot, turned back into Multan.

Absolutely stunning , this season should be named as The Dogmas of PSL.

A story telling more scintillating than WWE.
 
I really don't understand the purpose of PSL..Have been there for more than 10 years however yet to find or create one real talent, sub standard pitches, empty stadium, so called star players who always fail internationally, mostly discard or retired foreign players and if any one of them finds form or perform extraordinarily internationally, then no guarantee they will be available for the next season, a bankrupt franchises, corrupt board who just throws fake figures and finally the pathetic fans who still celebrate this mediocrity and hail it as best league or second best league in the world..
 
This is just my observational assessment looking at the current situation of the geopolitical world, cricketing world and current facts.

Here's why PSL 11 is set to fail;

- Three expensive teams: Three new owners who have paid big money and already pushed their numbers to absolute limit. Hence there's less room of further loss in their projections.
- Expensive Broadcasting Deal: Already the initial bids for PSL broadcast were low and only one company managed to sweep in all digital, broadcasting and international rights. They arguably have paid most amount of money when calculated on per annum basis.
- PCB Loss: PCB has already said that they will bear the loss for teams. Which is suffice to say will be significant.
- Regional Situation: War ongoing in middle east and another one looming in subcontinent region. Pack this with fuel crisis on a global level.
- Players Withdrawing: Already a handful of players have withdrawn. A few of them being big names. There's potentially more news to come.
- Only Two Stadiums: Each stadium will host 22 matches. This means the pitches will get wear and tear. There will be less than ideal time to prepare a great T20 wicket for all matches. Specially for the later games.
- No Crowds: This means no engagement. Potentially artificial noise. No real buzz or atmosphere for players to enjoy and take their game next level. No gathering of fans or going together with friends in the game. We saw how it panned out in Covid PSL.
- Competing with IPL: Everyone knows PSL can't compete with IPL. With all of the above-mentioned points. PSL as a product is a very weak sell. Why would a neutral Cricket fan would want to tune in to PSL?
- Situation Worsens?: If the situation worsens in the region with the middle east war. There's a high chance the league gets postponed or cancelled.

These are just some of the big things. There are so many small things going against PSL right now. It's a safe bet to say that this year's PSL will fail.
 
The league should be postponed, as there is a high probability Pakistan will be pulled into this regional war.
 
So looks like around 70% of OS players are withdrawing , that is brutal , wonder PSL visionaries had some contingency plans ready.
 
Kianig89 said:
So looks like around 70% of OS players are withdrawing , that is brutal , wonder PSL visionaries had some contingency plans ready.
Click to expand...
It feels like the radar you had Sahibzada under before the T20 World Cup
 
Usman Chadda said:
It has nothing to do with us, but we have unnecessarily inserted ourselves in the issue.

Some things are more important than cricket.
Click to expand...
Bro, there will always be something going on. Today it is this, tomorrow it could be one of our 2 hostile neighbors that we are unfortunate to have. Where is the endgame?
 
I'm sure once the cricket starts all these issues will be forgotten as most of us just need a distraction away from the endless negativity of the current wars, inflation and doom news cycle.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Lol....teri yad ai teray janay k bad
Click to expand...

Its too late.

I hope and pray Ali Tareen invests his money in better ventures that bring him joy and job satisfaction. All his ideas fell on deaf ears and were sidelined by our dumb chomu fans.
 
RidiculousMan said:
Board is Naqvi. Naqvi is government. Government is State. Are you accusing the state for having no vision?
Click to expand...

Yes i just said it. I don't fear. To me Pakistan comes before Army dictatorship. Always will. 🇵🇰
 
PSL was always a mediocre product filled with retired/third string overseas players and mediocre Pakistani local talent for the most part. Add to that the absence of any good local T20 batting talent that the likes of India/England/Aus/SAF have. I mean the peak years of PSL were when Babar and Rizwan with their 120 SR were in good form. 😇

Only delusional Pakistani fans and PCB had this idea of PSL having more "quality" than IPL and thus dared to go head to head with it but as usual just like with any other thing, that plan ended up with eggs slapped on their face.
 
This will be a big mess

What's the point of holding league without crowds

And just playing in 2 venues

Doesn't make sense
 
Too much gloom and rona dhona. Let the tournament begin atleast.
 
This Naqvi administration has proved to be a disaster for Pakistan cricket. Their decision to play it in empty stadiums has sent the league years back.
OS players confidence will take a hit
 
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