The PCB and eight PSL team owners have had discussions to bring forward the tournament to January next year at the recent governing council meeting on September 1 in London.
Cricinfo has learnt that the proposal to hold the PSL early next year was floated by Walee Technologies, the media rights holder, because of limited advertising revenue in the April-May window as it falls after Ramazan, when companies exhaust their marketing and TV ad budgets.
Cricinfo understands, however, that there has also been concern from owners about the broadcast revenue owed to the franchises being paid in full regardless of which window it is played in and the state of Walee’s advertising budgets, after underwhelming financial returns from TV rights. Under the PSL’s agreement with the franchises, eight teams get 95% of broadcast revenue from the Central revenue pool.
The first nine editions of the PSL – from 2016 until 2024 – were held in the February-March window. The league had to be pushed back to April and May in the last two seasons because of the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup this year, which saw it run simultaneously with the IPL.
One silver lining of holding the league alongside the IPL has been the uninterrupted availability of the players, which was not the case in the prior seasons because of concurrent T20 leagues around the world. But the proposed change will see the issue rear again, as the PSL will see itself pitting against the SA20 and the BBL for international players.
There will also be logistical challenges for the PCB as January and February are the months of harsh winter in Punjab, where three of the four traditional PSL venues – Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi – are. Temperatures in Punjab can fall into the early single digits after sunset, and visibility can be severely impacted because of fog. It was proposed that the tournament can start from Karachi, where the weather remains moderate in winter, and can be moved to Punjab and Peshawar as the tournament progresses and the winters become mild.
Pakistan have a clear window from mid-November to March with no home or away series scheduled. They host Sri Lanka and England in October and November and are scheduled to host New Zealand for two Tests in March, which is their last World Test Championship assignment of this cycle.
Walee Technologies owns the broadcast and digital rights for the PSL in Pakistan until 2029 and had the international media rights for the 2026 edition. They also own Rawalpindiz, one of the two new franchises that were added to the six teams this year.
The governing council, which comprises representatives from the PCB and the owners of the eight teams, also contemplated increasing the footprint of the league throughout the year by undertaking initiatives beyond cricket.
Cricinfo understands the governing council also discussed the possibility of venturing into Esports, a growing market in Pakistan. There are concerns among franchisees about the dwindling interest in the PSL because of Pakistan’s poor performances across formats, and diversifying into Esports could bring in a newer and younger audience.
The governing council also explored the possibility of organising a mid-year tournament within the current rights agreement with the franchisees and the broadcaster. It is understood that this proposal was put forward by the PCB to provide another revenue stream to the teams and the broadcaster.
Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi is a cricket journalist based in Lahore
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