Doha to host inaugural Pakistan league next February

KARACHI: Almost eight years after conceiving the idea of launching their own professional Twenty20 league, the country’s cricket chiefs seem to have made their first major breakthrough on Wednesday when the inaugural event’s dates and venue were announced in Lahore.
With his can-do attitude supplemented by loads of optimism, Najam Sethi is looking to succeed where many of his predecessors failed in the past in their bid to launch the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
As chairman of the PSL Governing Board, Sethi has not only managed to line-up the Qatari city of Doha as the venue for the inaugural edition, his team has also finalised the dates of the million-dollar spectacle.
According to him, the first edition of the PSL will be held from February 4-24 next year, featuring some of the top stars of the cricket world.
“The wait is now over and we are here to tell you of our intent to stage the PSL. The way we see it, PSL is not just about cricket. It is a unique blend of entertainment and cricket which will be the most exciting Pakistani product,” Sethi said on Wednesday after returning from Doha where he held meetings with top sports officials of the gas-rich country.
He said that after extensive negotiations with various stakeholders, the PSL Governing Council has decided to lock Doha as its preferred location for the tournament.
The five-team tournament will take place in February next year with a total of 24 matches scheduled to take place in the first edition. Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad and Quetta are likely to be five competing teams in the inaugural edition.
“We are starting with five teams in order to build the value of our franchises and we will expand the number of teams in the coming editions,” Sethi said.
According to the Board, top foreign stars from all Test-playing nations except India have expressed interest in signing up for the PSL.
“As of now, the PSL team has consent from over 40 international players. In addition, top foreign coaches are also being roped in for the first edition of the PSL. The tournament will carry collective prize money of up to $ 1 million,” it said.
There have been fears about the financial aspects of the PSL but Sethi tried to allay them by speaking about the interest of potential commercial stakeholders in the league.
“I can confirm that a number of parties are currently talking to us and are interested in picking up the franchises. Similarly, we have great interest being shown from broadcasters and sponsors,” Sethi said.
Meanwhile, the Board said that “in line with the tournament commercial plan, rights for broadcast, sponsorship, and franchise ownership will be sold over the next three months. With the event venue locked, the formal PSL launch will take place in Lahore in the third week of September.”
Efforts to launch a PCB-owned T20 league were first made by former chairman Nasim Ashraf back in 2007. Later, the Board tried to revive the plan only to throw them back in the deep freezer.
The project seemed doomed till Sethi, a former PCB chairman who is currently the chairman of the Board’s Executive Committee, decided to finally turn it into a reality. Thought both Sethi and the Board sound confident, it remains to be seen whether they would be able to meet the various targets in less than six month’s time to make the inaugural PSL edition a success.