Pakistan Super League
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) (Urdu: پاکستان سپر لیگ) is a professional Twenty20 cricket franchise league in of 5 member clubs. Headquartered in Lahore, the
PSL is the major professional cricket league in Pakistan.
Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, the PSL is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by the league's investors. The early commercial rights of franchises were sold for PKR 985 Crores ($93 million) for a span of 10 years in December 2015.
The winners of the first tournament were Islamabad United, who claimed the title after defeating Quetta Gladiators in the final match on 23 February 2016.
 | |
| Countries |  Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First tournament | 2016 |
| Tournament format | Double round robin and Playoffs |
| Number of teams | Five (current) |
| Current champion | Islamabad United (1st title) |
| Most successful | Islamabad United (1) |
| Most runs | Umar Akmal (335) |
| Most wickets | Andre Russell (16) |
| TV | List of Broadcasters |
| Website | Official website |
 2016 Pakistan Super League | |
Establishment
In September 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board officially announced the launch of the Pakistan Super League. Former Pakistan cricket team captains Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja signed up to promote the PSL and become brand ambassadors of the league for three years.
After several years of planning, the league officially began on 4 February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates, after the suspension of the Haier T20 Cup, the previous T20 competition held in Pakistan. The first season included five teams nominally based in Pakistani cities and players from 11 different countries.Pakistanis have historically constituted the majority of the players in domestic T20 competitions, but in its first season the PSL had a higher percentage of international players. The league uses a draft system for player recruitment, similar to that of the National Football League in the United States, as opposed to the auction system used in some other T20 leagues.
The PSL's official logo and anthem were launched on 20 September 2015 in a ceremony in Lahore. The anthem, Ab Khel Ke Dikha, was sung by Ali Zafar and the PSL logo was revealed by 3Di.The ceremony was attended by current and retired cricketers, as well as Pakistani celebrities.
Format
The first season of the PSL was played in a double round-robin format. Every team played each other twice and the top 4 qualifying for a series of playoff games.
Rules and regulations
The PSL follows rules and regulations dictated by the ICC. Points in the group stage are awarded as follows:
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Win | 2 Points |
| No Result | 1 Point |
| Loss | 0 Points |
In the event of tied scores after both teams have faced their quota of overs, a super over is used to determine the winner, even in the group stage.In the group stage, teams will be ranked on the following criteria:
- Higher number of points
- If equal, higher number of wins
- If equal, least number of defeats
- If still equal, result of head to head meeting.
- If still equal, net run rate
Teams
According to a Pakistan Cricket Board press release, around 20 parties showed an interest in buying franchises for the league before the first season.On 18 October 2015 the Board began accepting tenders for franchises with a deadline for bids of 15 November According to a statement by the PCB, bid winners will be granted the rights to a franchise for a term of 10 years.Interested parties included the ARY Media Group, Omar Associates, Arif Habib Group, Haier, Mobilink as well as two international groups including Leonine Global Sports and the Qatar Lubricants Company (QALCO).
All five franchises for the first season of the league were sold on 3 December 2015 after seven bidders presented formal proposals.
| Team | City | Owner | Price | Ten Year Agreement | Captain | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islamabad United | Islamabad, Capital Territory | Leonine Global Sports (Ali Naqvi & Amna Naqvi) | US$1.5 million | US$15 Million | Misbah-ul-Haq | Dean Jones | |
| Karachi Kings | Karachi, Sindh | ARY Media Group (Salman Iqbal, CEO) | US$2.6 million | US$26 Million | Ravi Bopara | Mickey Arthur | |
| Lahore Qalandars | Lahore, Punjab | Qatar Lubricants Company Limited (Fawad Rana, MD) | US$2.5 million | US$25 Million | Azhar Ali | Paddy Upton | |
| Peshawar Zalmi | Peshawar, Khyber Pakthunkhwa | Haier Pakistan (Javed Afridi, CEO) | US$1.6 million | US$16 Million | Shahid Afridi | Mohammad Akram | |
| Quetta Gladiators | Quetta, Balochistan | Omar Associates (Nadeem Omar, Director) | US$1.1 million | US$11 Million | Sarfraz Ahmed | Moin Khan | |
Winners
| Year | Host Nation(s) | Teams | Final Venue | Final | MVP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||||
| 2016 |  United Arab Emirates | 5 | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai |  Islamabad United175/4 (18.4 overs) | Islamabad United won by 6 wickets |  Quetta Gladiators174/7 (20 overs) |  Ravi Bopara |
Sponsorship
The PSL's title sponsorship was awarded to Habib Bank Limited for three years. Sponsorship deals associated with the league, including the title sponsorship, are estimated to be worth more than $6 million.Other sponsors include Brighto Paints, J. Triptym, Zong 4G, Cool and Cool, Giggly Boom Boom Bubble, ZIC Lubricant Oil, Huawei, PTCL, Qatar Airways, Mobilink and OLX.
Broadcasting
Sunset + Vine were awarded rights as official broadcasters for the first four seasons of the league. Ten Sports, PTV Sports and Geo Super were awarded broadcast rights in Pakistan for the first three seasons. The value of the broadcasting deal was $15 million, with the PCB selling the global television rights to Tech Front, a United Arab Emirate group, for the same duration.In the first season matches were streamed live on YouTube in Pakistan, on the PSL official site and via the PSL app.Viewers worldwide, excluding Pakistan and the Middle East, could live stream matches on cricket gateway.com
| Country | Years | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 2016 – present | PTV Sports Ten Sports Geo Super |
| United Arab Emirates | 2016 – present | OSN |
 Australia | 2016 – present | Prime TV |
 Bangladesh | 2016–present | Gazi TV |
 West Indies | 2016–present | Flow TV |
Advertising rights for the first three years of the league's operation were awarded to Pakistani company Blitz Advertising.
