Pakistan Super League, PSL. Photo-X
PSL. Photo-X

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises have unanimously rejected the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) proposal to directly sign star overseas players for the PSL 2025 season. The 2018 Pakistan Super League will not be held within its customary period of February-March due to the ICC Champions Trophy and other international obligations in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Super League competition is also suffering from a lack of available star players due to scheduling conflicts with the IPL. The PSL 2025 will be directly clashing with IPL 2025 as PCB is planning to host their marquee tournament in late April-May next year.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly offered a feasible window for the PSL 2025 season from April 10 to May 25, with definitive dates to be determined soon.

The cricket board is considering allowing Pakistan Super League franchises to negotiate directly with top players, with each team able to recruit one or two marquee players.

PSL franchises reject PCB proposal of directly signing overseas players

Saleem Khaliq, a renowned Pakistan sports journalist, has revealed on social media, that the Pakistan Super League franchises have unanimously rejected PCB’s idea of signing overseas players directly ahead of the PSL 2025 draft.

PCB borrowed the idea from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where BCB allows teams to sign overseas players by paying them in cash for the required number of matches in the BPL.

Khaliq stated on X that the PSL franchises have cited the reason that the list made available to them by the PCB has unappealing names and they don’t want to spend money on signing such players before the PSL draft.

The franchises further want to wait for the IPL 2025 mega auction to be over, as it is expected to be held in December. This will give them a clear picture of player availability before the PSL draft that is scheduled to be held in January next year.

“PSL franchises have rejected the proposal for direct signings with star players due to the unappealing list of available cricketers. The draft will now be held in the last week of December or early January. Discussions regarding the participation of English cricketers will take place with the ECB chief during their tour of Pakistan,” Saleem Khaliq wrote on X.

The issue has been further compounded by the England Cricket Board (ECB) diktat that England players will reportedly not be allowed to play any other foreign T20 league except the IPL. This is to keep the domestic talent in the country and not lose them to lure of T20 leagues.

Franchises recently expressed concerns about the Pakistan Super League schedule via email, but the board stated the decision was made in collaboration with the teams. The teams replied that they were not given a choice, with the Pakistan Super League initially scheduled for October or November, which was then refused.

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