Another Pakistan vs India clash: IPL on collision course with PSL in 2026

[The Bald Eagle]

Pakistan Super League (PSL) next year is set to clash with the high-profile Indian Premier League as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling to hold the event in the same window as the IPL

The reason being given is that with the ICC World T20 Cup scheduled in February-March next year and some FTP (Future Tours Programme) commitments, it might not be possible again to hold the PSL in its normal window of February-March. "There is a window available to the Pakistan board in December and first half of January but it has already given NOCs to Pakistani players to play in the Big Bash in Australia in this period and has also planned some domestic activities.

"So the discussion now with the franchise owners is to prepare for the PSL to be held in April-May just like this year," a source said.

An official in the PSL secretariat said that when the PSL was held this year and overlapped with the IPL due to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February-March, there was no effect on the viewership or interest which the PSL normally gets every year.

"Initially there was some concern that having the PSL in the same window as the IPL might hit our league but surprisingly viewership figures on TV and other media improved and the franchise owners got a chance to sign on some notable overseas players who were not picked in the IPL auction," he added.

With 10 editions now completed, the valuation of the existing six franchise teams will also be carried out before the next PSL and the PCB is thinking about a 25 per cent increase in franchise fees.

All the franchise owners except Multan Sultans' owner Ali Tareen, teams have confirmed in writing their intent to retain ownership for the next 10-years but Tareen who pays the highest franchise fee wants a review of all franchise fees as he has concerns over financial losses.

The next edition of the event is also significant since the PSL secretariat is also set to invite bids for two more new teams, the work for which has already started.

Apparently the PCB also wants that the 10-year title sponsorship agreement also needs to be reviewed and renewed and a new deal for live streaming will also be required.

Currently, PCB earns about 900 million rupees annually from the title sponsorship. Last year, live streaming rights for Pakistan were sold for approximately 1.8 billion. Local broadcast rights generated around 6.3 billion, while international rights brought in USD 4.6 million. Ground rights were sold for around PKR 2 billion for two years.

For TV production, PCB signed a two-year deal worth USD 2.25 million annually. Tenders will be issued for all these agreements, followed by lengthy processes.

Source: NDTV

 

[Bhaijaan]

It works for all parties. A win win win

During IPL, if a foreign player gets injured a replacement from PSL can be brought in within hours. So it serves the interest of IPL franchises perfectly to have a junior league operating at the same time.

 

[RexRex]

Pakistan Super League (PSL) next year is set to clash with the high-profile Indian Premier League as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling to hold the event in the same window as the IPL. The reason being given is that with the ICC World T20 Cup scheduled in February-March next year and some FTP (Future Tours Programme) commitments, it might not be possible again to hold the PSL in its normal window of February-March. "There is a window available to the Pakistan board in December and first half of January but it has already given NOCs to Pakistani players to play in the Big Bash in Australia in this period and has also planned some domestic activities.

How much does the PSL earn annually in profit ?

 

[Devadwal]

PSL is irrelevant to IPL so doesn't matter

 

[Devadwal]

Now klassen, De kock, Pooran , Maxwell (and many more in this year ) are retired from international cricket ( or odi) , best chance for PSL to attract them but this Only can happen if PSL not clash with IPL.

 

[Rana]

PSL should aim to finish 2 weeks after IPL

That way you can pick better players in the supplementary

You might get Pooran, Klaasen, Head, Maxwell, Starc etc this way.

They can all fly straight over for the final group games+ play offs

 

[Rana]

Now klassen, De kock, Pooran , Maxwell (and many more in this year ) are retired from international cricket ( or odi) , best chance for PSL to attract them but this Only can happen if PSL not clash with IPL.

The clashed PSL roster was very good even without those players

There are ways to still have them available if PCB finishes a couple of weeks after IPL

 

[Savak]

Its funny that being a subsidiary junior league to the IPL has actually ended up working in favor of the PSL where the PSL gets talked alongside the IPL in comparison to the other leagues. This year the PSL foreign player roster was the best in years plus the world also got to see the unpicked IPL players in action. If the PCB can negotiate with the ECB and get NOC's for English players, the foreign roster should improve further.

I think going head to head vs the IPL is a better option vs clashing with the BPL, BBL, ILT20, SA T-20 in December March and most foreign players prefer to skip the PSL to rest and prepare themselves for the 2.5 month IPL league.

However the hot humid weather in Pakistan at that time period will be a concern, PCB needs to reduce the ticket prices and keep it in the Pkr 250 - Pkr 3,000 range to attract maximum crowds. In today's economic environment, people cannot afford to pay Pkr 2,000 to 10,000 for cricket games day in, day out for 2 months. Also PCB needs to allocate some games to Faisalabad, Gujranwalla, Sialkot and share revenues 50-50 with the franchises for these revenues to avoid over saturation in one city.

 

[Vikram1989]

How much does the PSL earn annually in profit ?

5 % of profits to pcb.Rest will be given to franchises only.There are plans for 2 more franchises . unlike ipl franchises, psl franchises will never actively involve in generating revenue for themselves and pcb.They behave like a retd govt employee.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

PSL should aim to finish 2 weeks after IPL

That way you can pick better players in the supplementary

You might get Pooran, Klaasen, Head, Maxwell, Starc etc this way.

They can all fly straight over for the final group games+ play offs

Head, Starc ain't playing PSL. Active Aus players aren't greedy. They make plenty of money from IPL and prefer to keep their bodies fit for international cricket.

 

[Rana]

Head, Starc ain't playing PSL. Active Aus players aren't greedy. They make plenty of money from IPL and prefer to keep their bodies fit for international cricket.

I’m pretty sure a lot of them are heading off to MLC after the WTC final

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Go head to head with it.

The tournament was fine. We had some good matches, some players came to life and international players weren't bad

 

[ElRaja]

should run concurently, psl cant compete with ipl so might as well use its window to get the best of the rest. problems will only arise when ipl expands to more teams, its fine for now though.

 

[cricketmania22]

Should keep this window. This year’s PSL had a very good roster. No need to tinker with it. However, they should add more venues.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I’m pretty sure a lot of them are heading off to MLC after the WTC final

MLC is different. For one thing, it features a handful of their premier players (Cummins, Maxwell, Head)...it also happens during a convenient window, and some of them are getting alot of money and fringe benefits for playing. Cummins for instance, has already said that getting close to Silicon Valley, through his team's owners, who are tech-entrepreneurs was a major motivation for signing. It is helping him plan for his life after cricket, possibly as an investor.

Some players are even signed to multi-year deals.

What fringe benefits are PSL going to give someone like Cummins? A plot in Lahore Qalandars housing society?

 

[cricketmania22]

MLC is different. For one thing, it features a handful of their premier players (Cummins, Maxwell, Head)...it also happens during a convenient window, and some of them are getting alot of money and fringe benefits for playing. Cummins for instance, has already said that getting close to Silicon Valley, through his team's owners, who are tech-entrepreneurs was a major motivation for signing. It is helping him plan for his life after cricket, possibly as an investor.

Some players are even signed to multi-year deals.

What fringe benefits are PSL going to give someone like Cummins? A plot in Lahore Qalandars housing society?

What does getting close Silicon Valley mean in this context?

 

[Vikram1989]

What does getting close Silicon Valley mean in this context?

Cummins plays for San Francisco franchise. San Francisco franchise have investments from youtube ceo,Adobe ceo, whats app , Google, Dropbox heads/ ceos.Mlc is co owned by Microsoft ceo. In short , all the Indian tech gaints are handling his franchise. Cummins wants to stay with in their shadows purposefully and invest some after his retirement. His franchise have gathered money from venture capitals( shared fund from above personalities).I think he will invest in such than having a trouble of direct investment in a start up.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I dont think there is anything wrong in this... PSL did fine this time. IPL will get boring with its lengthy schedule like it did this time but yeah, IPL is money maker anyways but PSL should go ahead as planned. No need to make huge changes here.

 

[Savak]

And please PCB, no day games, double headers in April May, that is just suicide in the heat humidity of Pakistan at that time. Give the players some ice vests as well if needed and start the games late around 8 pm

 

[Barragan]

Excellent

Have the PSL start two weeks before the ipl

PSL will be in the final stages and helps avoid the peak heatwave, whilst the ipl still in the group stages and that will draw the viewers in

ipl heats up at the end stages, just like any other competition