The Pakistan Super League (PSL) (also known as the HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons) is a men's Twenty20 cricket league contested by six city-based franchise teams. The league was founded in 2015 by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, the league is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by the investors.
Each team plays the group stage matches in a double round robin format and the top four teams with the most points qualify for the playoffs, culminating in the final.
There have been eight seasons of the league. Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars being the only teams to have won the title twice, are the most successful teams. The current champions Lahore Qalandars are the only team to successfully defend its title, after winning in the 2023 season.
Establishment
In September 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board officially announced the launch of the PSL. Former Pakistani national 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 and two previous failed attempts, the league officially began on 4 February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates Sports minister Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, inaugurated the opening ceremony. The first two seasons included five teams based on the capital cities of Pakistan's provinces and the Federal capital. 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 used in many North American professional sports leagues and as opposed to the auction system used in some other T20 leagues.
The PSL's official logo was launched on 20 September 2015 in a ceremony in Lahore, and was revealed by 3Di.The ceremony was attended by current and retired cricketers, as well as Pakistani celebrities.
The commercial rights to the initial franchises were sold for US$93 million for a span of 10 years in December 2015. The market value of PSL in 2017 was up to US$300 million according to Arif Habib, and has grown significantly in the years since.
Format
The PSL is played in a double round-robin format. Every team plays each other twice and the top four advance to the Playoffs. The playoffs use the Page playoff system, like the Indian Premier League.
The league follows the rules and regulations dictated by the International Cricket Council, although it introduced DRS system in T20s which was later emulated by International Cricket Council as well. In the group stage, two points are awarded for a win, one for a no-result and none for a loss. In the event of tied scores after both teams have faced their quota of overs, a super over is used to determine the match winner. In the group stage teams are ranked on the following criteria:
- Higher number of points
- If equal, better run rate
- If equal, highest number of wins
- If equal, fewest losses
- If still equal, the results of head-to-head meeting
In any play-off match in which there is no result, a super over is used to determine the winner. If the super over is not possible or the result of the over is a tie, the team which finished in the highest league position at the end of the regular season is deemed the winner of the match.
Teams
According to a PCB press release, around 20 parties showed an interest in buying franchises for the league before the first season. On 18 October 2015 the Pakistan Cricket Board began accepting tenders for franchises with a deadline for bids of 15 November. Bid winners were granted the rights to a franchise for ten years.
All five franchises for the first season of the league were sold on 3 December 2015, for a total price of US$93 million, after seven bidders presented formal proposals.
In April 2017, the PCB invited bids for a sixth team. As many as 40 national and international parties expressed an interest in buying the sixth franchise and on 1 June the rights to the Multan franchise was bought by Schön Properties for a price of US$5.2 million a year, the most expensive franchise rights in the league. In November 2018, however, the rights were terminated by the PCB due to issues with payments. The rights were resold to a consortium led by Ali Tareen for US$6.35 million.
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e The team was founded in 2015 and made its PSL debut in the 2016 season.
- ^ The team was founded in 2017 and made its PSL debut in the 2018 season. The franchise agreement was terminated in 2018, after they failed to pay their annual fee of US$5.2 million. It was later bought by new owners and refounded under the same name.
Results
The first season of the PSL was played entirely in the United Arab Emirates due to security reasons. The inaugural champions were Islamabad United, who defeated Quetta Gladiators in the final. Peshawar Zalmi were the 2017 PSL champions, beating Quetta Gladiators in Lahore on 5 March 2017. Islamabad United were the 2018 PSL champions, beating defending champions Peshawar Zalmi on 25 March 2018. Quetta Gladiators defeated Peshawar Zalmi to win their first title on 17 March 2019 in Karachi, in 2020 Karachi Kings took the trophy home. Multan Sultans, who won their first title defeating Peshawar Zalmi on 24 June 2021 in Abu Dhabi. Lahore Qalandars won their first title on 27 February 2022, against reigning champions Multan Sultan. Lahore Qalandars again defeated Multan Sultans with a minor margin of 1 run to win their consecutive 2nd title of the tournament in its 8th edition on 18 March 2023.
Final results
Team results
| Season (No. of teams) | 2016 (5) | 2017 (5) | 2018 (6) | 2019 (6) | 2020 (6) | 2021 (6) | 2022 (6) | 2023 (6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hosts(s) Teams | UAE | UAE Pakistan | UAE Pakistan | UAE Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan UAE | Pakistan | Pakistan |
| Islamabad United | W | PO | W | PO | Grp | PO | PO | PO |
| Karachi Kings | PO | PO | PO | PO | W | PO | Grp | Grp |
| Lahore Qalandars | Grp | Grp | Grp | Grp | R | Grp | W | W |
| Multan Sultans | Team did not exist | Grp | Grp | PO | W | R | R | |
| Peshawar Zalmi | PO | W | R | R | PO | R | PO | PO |
| Quetta Gladiators | R | R | PO | W | Grp | Grp | Grp | Grp |
Champions
| Team | Title(s) | Runner-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islamabad United | 2 | – | 2016, 2018 | – |
| Lahore Qalandars | 2 | 1 | 2022, 2023 | 2020 |
| Karachi Kings | 1 | – | 2020 | – |
| Multan Sultans | 1 | 2 | 2021 | 2022, 2023 |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 1 | 3 | 2017 | 2018, 2019, 2021 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 1 | 2 | 2019 | 2016, 2017 |
Pakistan Super League (PSL) Tournament Summary
| Date | PSL 2024 (13 February – 19 March 2024) |
|---|---|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Administrator | Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First Edition | 2016 |
| Latest edition | 2023 |
| Next edition | 2024 |
| Number of Teams | 6 |
| Tournament Format | Double round-robin and Playoffs |
| Current Champion (2023) | Lahore Qalandars (2nd title) |
| Most successful Team | Lahore Qalandars (2 titles) |
| Most Runs | Babar Azam (2935) |
| Most Wickets | Wahab Riaz (113) |
| Official Website | www.psl-t20.com |
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