My email to Najam Sethi
His response
This will be a very long post so will include a TL;DR for those who don't want to read it but to understand my full idea it is best to read to whole thing.
It is impressive that he replied to your email, his inbox must quite bare to reply to a random email but it is good to see his commitment to making sure PSL is a success. There are two risks for potential investors. Pakistan has had a problem with terrorism affecting cricket with the Sri Lanka team attack making our home in UAE for 10 years but with hard work, cricket is slowing returning to Pakistan. Potential investors will want to see at least a full season in Pakistan and stability until they would want to invest.
I've seen people on this thread talk about the Pakistan market perhaps not being good enough for potential investors but it the problem does not lie with the market itself but the marketability of teams and the league which links to the first point.
Firstly, the tournament is held in UAE and crowds are dead there so the cost of playing in UAE and ticket receipts are not good enough and the poor crowds may cause the impression that there is not much interest in the league. If you were a Pakistani businessman with millions and you don't really keep up with the cricket and you turn on the TV and watch today's matches, you'd think there is no interest looking at the crowds. Only when the PSL is moved to Pakistan will crowds improve and the profitability would increase.
Secondly, the quality of international players at the PSL since it is mainly T20 globetrotters like Baz, Sanga and Pollard. They are amazing players but they're not current in cricket so won't appeal to international viewers. Imagine the interest from English media if Root or Stokes was involved or in Aus if a Warner or Smith played. The Indian market is obviously the biggest market and the PSL will not break into that market without the inclusion of Indian players. It is an unwritten rule in both leagues not to allow players from either country but if PCB swallow their pride and perhaps say to BCCI or Indian players they can be involved, it will improve ties between the two boards and will create Indian interest as it would be unusual to see. I think there are a few senior Indian players who might be interested in playing PSL just to help improve ties and if PCB perhaps put out a media release stating this, BCCI may be open to issue NOCs or Indian players could taken the matter into their own hands and try and enter their name into the draft before consulting BCCI in hope BCCI allows them to play and issue them an NOC as it would be embarrassing to BCCI if Indian players publicly put their name forward and then the players are withdrawn. There definitely some players BCCI can't say no to. Imagine the scenes if Yuvi came in for Lynn for Lahore if that was possible and him being open to playing in Pakistan. Not only would it increase marketability but we could see Pakistan players go into IPL and talks begin between the two boards to improve relations which is good for cricket in general.
Finally, I think that there needs to be a few more teams with an AK team being a priority like a Mirpuri team. I'm not entirely informed on the status of PSL in Pakistan and how popular it is with people outside of the cities that have teams so they need to create fan bases for the teams as it seems like it is a friendly tournament with the crowd just supporting Pakistan by making people feel a sense of attachment to their teams. Of course this can only happen with all of the points above as they need good enough Intl. talent to supply more teams and they can only do that by proving Pakistan is safe and they need to bring cricket to Pakistani stadiums so there is a more home/away atmosphere. This is the way to create passionate fans and it will inspire the players more as they will see the reactions of the people they are representing.
One advantage IPL had was Bollywood and the glitz and the glamour associated with the league so celebs were heavily involved with ownerships but that was more to get the interest of the general media and home market. PSL franchises have tried to do the same with ambassadors but I don't think it has had much effect. I was watching the Death of a Gentlemen (about the death of test cricket) and someone said 3 things sell in India, Cricket, Bollywood and Religion and IPL has combined two of the three so IPL has become a strong brand on the back of this along with other reasons.
These things would maximise marketability of owning a team and make it more financially viable to invest in a PSL team and that is what would attract the interest of rich businessmen like the ones you have mentioned. At this current stage, I believe big name investors are not ready to invest into a risky venture that may not guarantee big returns.
If you have read the whole thing then thank you for reading, if not here is a TL;DR
1) Prove Pakistan is safe and able to hold cricket consistently
2) Marketability of PSL is unproven and risky so to improve/show marketability of the league by:
- Moving from UAE to Pakistan -> currently looks like there is no interest with dead crowds
- Improve quality of Intl. players e.g. Stokes, Warner -> Opens up international market -> PCB should swallow pride and break unwritten rule and inform BCCI and Indian players they can join despite what they may think -> Imagine Indian market if Yuvi replaces Lynn for Lahore this PSL (Unrealistic but cool idea) -> create positive communications between PCB and BCCI
- More teams so more Pakistani cities are interested and more fans support home team -> Large populations to be able to sell to
- Create passionate fanbase -> Shirt sales -> Currently seems like crowd is supporting Pakistan not teams -> Imagine the noise/silence depending on result for Qalandars vs. Kings in Karachi or Lahore
