Our very own league

They say well begun is half done. The inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) began with a bang on Thursday night in Dubai with an engrossing encounter between the Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United. International stars like Kevin Pietersen were seen in action in the opening encounter, which was preceded by an impressive ceremony. There was a sizeable crowd at the stadium while millions in many parts of the globe watched it on their TV sets. It took more than eight years for the Pakistan Cricket Board chiefs to finally launch the country’s Twenty20 league. One of the biggest benefits a country gets from hosting such leagues is that their second-tier players get a chance to rub shoulders with the best in business. The way unheralded Pakistan spinner Mohammad Nawaz won the PSL’s opening match for the Gladiators with an impressive haul of 4-13 proves that there is a lot of depth in our pool of second string players. While it’s a fact that the league will be a good platform for our domestic stars to make their presence felt on an international stage, it remains to be seen whether the PSL will be able to make any sizeable profits for the PCB.

The league is supposed to be Pakistan’s version of India’s cash-rich IPL but so far there are no guarantees whether the PSL will be able to earn the PCB even a fraction of what the IPL churns out for the Indian cricket board (BCCI). One area where the PSL will need to not emulate the IPL is corruption. Over the years, the Indian league has survived a series of scandals mainly because of the BCCI’s enormous clout in international cricket. For obvious reasons, the PSL won’t enjoy such luxury. By launching the league in the desert oases of the UAE, Pakistan’s cricket chiefs have finally initiated something that had seemed impossible. But the more challenging part for the PCB will be to bring the PSL home – where it belongs. Roping in international stars to play in the safe and inviting cities of Dubai and Sharjah is easy when we compare it with the option of playing in Karachi and Lahore. But that is something the PCB will have to do sooner than later because only once the PSL is held in Pakistan will it truly become our country’s Twenty20 league.