Pakistan Super League’s season nine is starting from Saturday with high hopes of taking the event to further heights and recognition. What the PSL has achieved in the last eight editions has been noteworthy and that is why it is regarded as the second-best league in the world. Of course PSL has carved a niche for itself at the international level.
Six teams — two-time champions Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United, and one time winners Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi will vie for the trophy in a reinvigorated style. All the foreign players have assembled in Pakistan with the first match in Lahore pitting defending champions Lahore Qalandars against Islamabad United at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium. The 34-match tournament will culminate with the final on March 18 in Karachi.
What international players say about the PSL is praiseworthy but besides that the figures are ample proof that the League is rising and rising. The Live streaming rights of the PSL have increased by 113 percent, broadcast rights by 45 and international rights by 41. Amongst these figures the international rights are the most significant – signpost that shows the League is being one of the most sought-after for the aliens, just as it is for the locals.
The PSL has now created an ecosystem of its own which has developed a new generation of players, fans and even administrators of the game. The league has provided a number of future stars and created options, apart from creating enough jobs for everyone involved in the sport. From Hasan Ali to Naseem Shah to Mohammad Hasnain to Shahnawaz Dahani to Ihsan Ullah there are plenty of fast bowlers whose talent were honed during the various years of this Twenty20 League. Then there are dashing batters like Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Akhlaq to name a few who have matured in clouting sixes and boundaries from the PSL.
After the advent of Twenty20 cricket in England, other countries started to adopt the shortest format which became an instant hit for its brevity, thrashing of boundaries and sixes and quick results. Indians were initially skeptical of the format but once they won the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup they were the first to launch a T20 league. Australia followed suit, introducing the Big Bash in 2011 and a mashroom of leagues started to come up. Sri Lanka launched its own version in 2011, but later re-launched it as the Lankan Premier League in 2019. Then came the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in 2012. The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) came through in 2013 in a new avatar.
To its credit PCB had thought of the idea of its own league in 2007 but somehow or the other it could not be implemented. In 2012 the then chairman of PCB Zaka Ashraf made some efforts to get the tournament going in 2014. Salman Sarwar Butt, who had gained enough experience from the National T20 events as an official of Faysal Bank, did some good spade work and it was piggyback on which the later Boards progressed. But since foreign players were not ready to come to Pakistan it was decided to stage the event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In the end it had to be canceled due to logistical problems.
Finally, with Najam Sethi at the helm, the PSL was launched in 2016. To his credit, Sethi was a decision maker and the executor of PSL. The first edition was fully held on the neutral venues of the United Arab Emirates so the basic element of home crowds was missing.
The final of 2017 edition was held in Lahore and although some top foreign players stayed away from it, that one match was enough to convince a World XI (with players from Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka) to tour Pakistan. Sri Lanka also returned to Pakistan albeit for just a single Twenty20 international that same year. The first two editions of PSL not only provided Pakistan a chance to bolster its T20I reserves but also convinced the world that the country is safe to play cricket. Just as Robertson’s market research survey revealed that the new breed of fans was interested in the shortest format, PCB also realized the importance of bringing back the league to its home.
The count went to three in 2018 when two eliminators were played in Lahore and the final was held in Karachi. A change in the PCB brought a further robust policy and the strong resolve was to bring back all international cricket to home grounds. Eight PSL matches were held in Karachi and the response of the crowd was overwhelming. Tours from Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and South Africa further eased the problems of hosting international matches in Pakistan and that allowed PCB to announce the return of full PSL in Pakistan in 2020.
PSL 1: February 4-23, 2016: United Arab Emirates
Finally, the first edition was held in February 2016. The first anthem of PSL was a big hit as it reverberated across the Pakistan ‘Seeti bajay gee, stage sajay ga, taali bajay gee, Ab khel jamay ga (The whistle will blow, the stage will be decorated, the clap will sound, now the game will start),” and the Ali Zafar sung theme set the ball rolling.
International players like Kevin Pietersen, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Kumar Sangakkara, Chris Gayle, Ravi Bopara, Cameroon Delport, Luke Wright, Dawid Malan, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell, Grant Elliott, Shakib Al Hasan, Darren Sammy, Samuel Badree to name a few. High profile coaches like Dean Jones, Wasim Akram, Viv Richards, Moin Khan, Paddy Upton and Mickey Arthur coached the teams.
Islamabad United won the title by beating Quetta Gladiators in the final in Dubai.
The then PCB chairman Najam Sethi declared the first edition projected a 2.6 million dollars profit which was distributed amongst five franchises and the PCB.
PSL 2 February 9-March 5, 2017 — UAE and Lahore
The PCB strived to take the final to Lahore in Pakistan and once the final was staged the world got to know that the country was safe to hold international cricket. Although the second edition was marred by a spot fixing scandal that involved a number of players — prominent being Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif — but once the duo was removed all the matches were held without any hiccup. Despite some foreign players refusing to come to Pakistan, the final was peacefully held.
Peshawar Zalmi beat Quatta Gladiators by 58 runs to clinch the title.
PSL 3
February 22- March 25: UAE and Pakistan
Pakistan Cricket Board, now under Ehsan Mani, successfully brought the final three matches to Pakistan and hosted them in Lahore and Karachi. Multan Sultans became the sixth team in the League, becoming the most expensive at 5.2 million dollars per year. Islamabad won their second title, beating Peshawar in an anti-climax when Asif Ali — dropped by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal before hitting three sixes off Hasan Ali — became the hero of the final.
PSL 4 February 14-March 17 – UAE and Karachi
The security situation in Pakistan had improved by 2020 so the last eight matches of PSL 4 were held in Pakistan. The deprived Pakistan fans thronged the stadiums in big numbers to make the PSL a big success. In the matches held in the UAE South African great and master blaster AB de Villiers featured in the tournament.
Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi topped the table in the league phase and ultimately played the final in which Quetta prevailed.
PSL 5 February 20-March 15, 2020
Play-offs and final – November 14-17, 2020
Pakistan
Covid-19 hit sporting events across the world and the fifth edition of PSL also could not escape the wrath of the virus. The virus hit Pakistan in the first week of the event and with gradual increase the event had to be postponed.
The event was in its first week when the first Covid case surfaced in Pakistan on February 26. With restricted crowds the event went on and then crowds had to be pulled totally in the final few matches before calamity struck. Karachi Kings’s England batsman Alex Hales announced he was suffering from symptoms of Covid which forced the organizers and the franchises to postpone the event. The remaining event was played in November. Karachi Kings won the final, beating Lahore by five wickets. They dedicated the title to their late coach Dean Jones who died of a heart attack, two months before the restart of the event.
PSL 6 February 20-March 3 in Karachi
June 9-24 in Abu Dhabi
Covid-19 breaches in the sixth event once again marred the PSL. It had to be shifted to the UAE after several cases came to the fore. After some hiccups the event was finally played in the UAE as their government was also initially reluctant.
Multan won the title, making it five different champions in six editions.
PSL 7
Jan 27 – Feb 27, 2022
Pakistan
Lahore Qalandars were the butt of jokes in the first four editions of the PSL as despite their best efforts they finished last on the final table. But finally their luck changed in the seventh edition. Shaheen Shah Afridi led the team in an aggressive style to help them clinch their maiden title on the back of some good form by Fakhar Zaman.
PSL 8
13 February – 18 March 2023
Pakistan
The eighth edition was once again won by Lahore Qalandars, becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles. The company of Shaheen Shah Afridi and head coach Aqib Javed once again successfully jelled the team as a unit.
In a sensational final Lahore beat Multan Sultan by a single run with Shaheen knocking off four wickets besides scoring a whirlwind 44 not out off just 15 balls.
