The 2016-born Pakistan Super League is getting bigger. The league will celebrate its 11th birthday with two new teams officially marking it an eight-team tournament. Ever since its inception, the PSL has become a household name in the realm of league cricket. With more young talent ready to take on the field and more and more international players signing up for the mega-event it was only necessary to make it bigger. Let’s take a look at the discussions surrounding Pakistan Super League 11.
Pakistan Super League 11
The news had it for a long time that two new teams would eventually be part of the mega event. It is now been officially stated by the Pakistan Cricket Board after it held a meeting with franchise owners. It was already agreed upon that PSL will remain a six-team tournament until the tenth season. However, the names of the new entrants along with which cities they will represent haven’t been revealed yet.
The ownership of five franchises will expire after the 2025 season (2026 for Multan Sultans since they entered the PSL two seasons late). After the lease expires, the owners will decide if would like to keep the ownership. In case they decide against it, the franchise will go on sale.
Interested to Read: Multan Sultans and an Analysis of their Choking Pattern in the Final
The new Schedule puts doubts over its quality
In the meeting between PCB officials and franchise owners, the Board has come up with the window of April-May for the tenth edition and onwards. The scheduling was an issue that arose due to the Champion’s trophy occupying the usual window of PSL in 2025. This along with ILT20 and SA20 takes up space during the same period. This calls for a new and expanded timeframe
The question arises, would the clash between IPL and PSL cause issues for Pakistan’s version of league cricket? Certainly. It will be hard for international players to draft for PSL when the much more attractive, cash-lucrative Indian League is going side-by-side. The Super League can only hope to draft players who are left behind by their league’s cross-border competitor. And an expanded PSL will erase any half-here, half-there probability as well.
Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board have told ESPN Cricinfo that three of six franchises have not agreed to this new window, given the board wants it as the permanent slot and not for season 10 exclusively. But if the PCB decides this way, the owners don’t get to have a say in it.
Pakistan Super League 11 and successive seasons have threats of under-strengthened squads and its demand and viewership are also in jeopardy. The plague of well-known names not coming to play in the Pakistan League is only going to get worse if April-May remains the case.
The Cons: Competition and rivalry
With eight teams now competing to grab the glory, it would indefinitely create more competition. This would mean that the teams would have to work hard even more to qualify which will make it interesting as it will bring more fans on city bases new rivalries will be made. This move surely would add further spark in the league. Now eight teams would have to fight for the four playoff spots which will make the qualification scenarios tougher. Pakistan Super League 11 will see more local talent get a chance to shine on the premium stage of Pakistan Cricket. Young talent yielded from the previous seasons like Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Saim Ayub and Hassan Ali have all represented Pakistan.
The Pakistan Super League 11 is getting bigger but here’s to also hoping that quality doesn’t deteriorate due to its clash with money-rich IPL.
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