Pakistan Super League Essay

Pakistan is a nation that loves cricket immensely. For Pakistanis, cricket is not just a game but an emotion. The Pakistan cricket team is considered one of the best teams in the world.

The 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan national cricket team took place on March 3 when 12 gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Sri Lankan players near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident and all the players were safe. After this attack, cricket in Pakistan was completely over, no international team was willing to play cricket in Pakistan.

For the revival of cricket in Pakistan, it was necessary that international teams play here again and at the same time Pakistan should start its own league to show the world that Pakistan is a peaceful country for cricket. With this aim, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to start a league, which was named Pakistan Super League (PSL). After numerous difficulties and tireless work, the PCB finally succeeded in organizing the first edition in 2016. A total of five teams were included in this edition and four foreign players were given a place in each team. This move sent a message to the world that Pakistan is a safe and peace-loving country for cricket.

First season of pakistan super league

The first edition of the Pakistan Super League was held in 2016, marking the beginning of the tournament. Due to the ban on international cricket in the country, the season was played in the United Arab Emirates. Five teams participated in this edition, including Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars.

The first match of PSL was played on February 4, 2016 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in which Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and Islamabad United captain Misbah-ul-Haq faced each other. Quetta Gladiators showed a brilliant game and won by eight wickets in this match. Mohammad Nawaz played an unbeaten innings of 22 runs along with dismissing four players and was declared the best player of the match. Interestingly, these two teams also played the final of the tournament. The final was held on February 23, 2016 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in which Islamabad United won by six wickets and became the first PSL champion. West Indies’ Dwayne Smith won the title of the best player of the final with a brilliant batting performance and scored 73 runs off 51 balls.

Revenues of pakistan super league

According to estimates, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earns an annual revenue of around Rs 2.56 billion from the PSL. Of this, 60 percent comes from sponsorships from local and international companies that partner with the PCB to organize the event. The total revenue generated from the PSL is divided between the board and the franchises, with the PCB receiving 70 percent of the revenue while the remaining 30 percent is shared among the six franchises.

Format of the league

The PSL is played in a double round-robin format. Each team plays against each other twice and the top four teams qualify for the play-off stage. The play-off matches use a page play-off system, similar to the Indian Premier League.

In the group stage teams are ranked on the following criteria:

The team with the most points
If points are equal, the team with the better run rate
If the run rate is also equal, then the team with the most wins
If the number of wins is also equal, then the team with the fewest losses
And if the situation still remains equal, then the results of the head-to-head matches are seen.

Calendar

The PSL is usually held in the months of February and March every year. The only exception was when the event was disrupted due to COVID-19. The PSL usually finishes before the Indian Premier League, however, in 2025, for the first time, the PSL and IPL schedules clashed.

Teams:

Team	City	Owner	Home ground	Founded	Captain	Coach
Islamabad United	Islamabad	Leonine Global Sports	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi	2015^[a]	Shadab Khan	Mike Hesson
Karachi Kings	Karachi	Salman Iqbal	National Stadium, Karachi	2015^[a]	David Warner	Phil Simmons
Lahore Qalandars	Lahore	Fawad Rana	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	2015^[a]	Shaheen Afridi	Darren Gough
Multan Sultans	Multan	Ali Tareen	Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan	2017^[b]	Mohammad Rizwan	Abdul Rehman
Peshawar Zalmi	Peshawar	Javed Afridi	Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar	2015^[a]	Babar Azam	Daren Sammy
Quetta Gladiators	Quetta	Nadeem Omar	Bugti Stadium, Quetta	2015^[a]	Saud Shakeel	Sarfaraz Ahmed

Pakistan Super League Essay – History, Teams & Impact on Cricket