The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 has become one of the most entertaining cricket leagues over the years. With a packed home season awaiting Pakistan in 2024-25, along with the upcoming Champions Trophy in February, the T20 league is expected to go head-to-head with the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Because Pakistan hosting its first ICC tournament in 30 years, since the 1996 ODI World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was forced to find a window between March and May for organizing the tenth season of the PSL.
The IPL’s constant but extended window in the International calendar starts in March every year and ends by the beginning of June. This means, both the IPL and PSL 10 would continue together in the next year.
The proposal of PSL 10’s new schedule puts players in a critical situation
In the last three years, Pakistan has started to host the top teams and is set to host all the Full Members, except India in the 2023-2027 Future Tours Programme. They will be taking part in 27 Tests, 13 of which will be at home, as part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
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26 of the 47 ODIs will be hosted by Pakistan, along with 27 of the 56 T20Is. With a bumper international calendar, Pakistan is trying to find their window for the PSL 10, and the only window they have is the three-month window between March and May.
‘The certainty and clarity around our home bilateral fixtures until 2027 provides us the platform to put together a robust commercial Programme, so that we can optimize the exploitation of our commercial rights.’ The PCB Chief Executive, Faisal Hasnain said.
If the PSL 10 goes on to get underway in the discussed period, the international players, who become part of both PSL and the IPL league, will find themselves between a rock and a hard place.
The likes of Kieron Pollard was part of the Karachi Kings team in the last PSL but is the batting coach of the Mumbai Indians. The same goes with the dynamic Australia batter, Tim David, who could now need to choose between Multan Sultan and the Mumbai Indians, and whether he wants to come to the IPL or go to the PSL 10.
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Then there is Rashid Khan, who has been a key member of Lahore Qalandars, but with this overlapping, he may not be part of the season, because of his commitments with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL.
If the PSL and the IPL coincide, it could perhaps harm the PSL’s image. With the popularity of India’s T20 league, especially in the financial section, the overlapping decisions of the two leagues could hurt the reputation of the PSL in the future. Careful planning of the PSL schedule is so essential to maintain its quality and prosperity.