The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been a long time coming. But in the end, it was a resounding success. The stadiums in Dubai and Sharjah were generally full and TV ratings in Pakistan hit unprecedented highs. Across the globe, including in India, tens of millions were glued to TV screens and/or online websites. Social media is awash with joy and praise.
This is the single most significant event in Pakistan’s cricketing history, more than even the World Cup win in 1992 and the T20 Cup win in 2009. The private sector’s financial involvement in cricket is going to change the landscape of domestic sport by freeing it from bureaucratic shackles and giving it a long overdue shot in the arm in line with international best practices. The close interaction of our youngsters with the top cricketers of the world will impart a new learning experience and imbue a fierce competitive spirit in them. The PSL will also come home step by step and thereby pave the way for full ICC members to send their teams to play Pakistan in Pakistan.
Of course, there were many hurdles along the way. The Pakistan Cricket Board management was of the view that if PSL couldn’t be held in Pakistan there was no point in holding it in the UAE where crowds would be thin and expenses high. It also felt that it lacked the expertise to organize such a league in line with the best leagues of the world. In 2013, the PCB wasted crores of rupees in exploring the idea of a super league in the UAE but abandoned the project. In 2014, it tried to outsource it altogether but failed again. Then the PCB acquired a new command, which set up a PSL Governing Council (GC) that got a new team of professionals and hired foreign consultants to advise on the PSL project. The GC took the plunge barely six months before a window of opportunity in February 2016 when all Pakistani and some international players were free from their international and domestic commitments.
Meanwhile, the Masters Champions League had muddied the waters by securing all the UAE stadiums in February 2016. The PSL tried to dissuade MCL without success. Then Team PSL went exploring to Qatar but couldn’t muster the required logistical support. It returned to Dubai and entered into some hard negotiations with the Emirates Cricket Board, finally managing to secure two stadiums for 15 days, with some overlap with the MCL. The looming India-Pakistan series in December 2015 in the UAE also cast a shadow. The broadcasters who provide the financial spine of all cricket matches weren’t enthusiastic about an upstart PSL that was scheduled just after the big-item bilateral Indo-Pak series and just before the ICC Asia Cup in Feb-March 2016 and T20 Championship in April. It was argued that with so much top cricket coming, there wouldn’t be sufficient financial juice in the advertising and sponsors market for an untried product like the PSL.
Undeterred, Team PSL invited bids from broadcasters. Only one –Ten Sports – showed up and offered a pittance. Not a single Pakistani channel had faith in the PSL. Suddenly, the project seemed stillborn. But Team PSL persevered. It cast around for the big media buying houses in Karachi. Only one showed some interest. Intense negotiations yielded a halfway house. PTV and TEN and GEO were then contacted for buying broadcasting time. Everybody – Venues, Broadcasters, Media Buying Houses – had PSL over a barrel. Take it or leave it, they said smugly.
Team PSL fought to whittle down exhorbitant demands. With high expenses forecast because of venue, production, foreign players and logistics costs, pressure mounted to increase non-broadcast revenue streams. Team PSL went into high gear, spreading the net for big business franchisees and sponsors. This was make or break. Thankfully, a crop of enthusiastic but hard-nosed franchisees and sponsors turned up, paving the way for PSL to scramble to the UAE one month later with pocket money to launch a campaign to lure the crowds to stadiums on working days. Somewhere in between, the team found time to lodge the franchisees in five star hotels in Dubai, apprise them of anti-corruption measures and establish Intel operations to deter match-fixing.
The PSL is a multi-dimensional, complex, difficult and multi-million dollar project. It has kicked off with a bang. The venues have got their pound of flesh. The advertisers and sponsors have got the eyeballs they wanted. The players have got bagsful of money. The franchisees are delighted with the increased value of their asset after the first edition and demand for a sixth and seventh team is already manifest. The PCB is smacking its lips in anticipation of forthcoming editions of the league. Most wonderfully, tens of millions of Pakistanis have got the passionate cricket they longed for. Indeed, the world has stood up and noted PSL with appreciation.
Well done, Team PSL. Take a bow.
This is the single most significant event in Pakistan’s cricketing history, more than even the World Cup win in 1992 and the T20 Cup win in 2009. The private sector’s financial involvement in cricket is going to change the landscape of domestic sport by freeing it from bureaucratic shackles and giving it a long overdue shot in the arm in line with international best practices. The close interaction of our youngsters with the top cricketers of the world will impart a new learning experience and imbue a fierce competitive spirit in them. The PSL will also come home step by step and thereby pave the way for full ICC members to send their teams to play Pakistan in Pakistan.
Of course, there were many hurdles along the way. The Pakistan Cricket Board management was of the view that if PSL couldn’t be held in Pakistan there was no point in holding it in the UAE where crowds would be thin and expenses high. It also felt that it lacked the expertise to organize such a league in line with the best leagues of the world. In 2013, the PCB wasted crores of rupees in exploring the idea of a super league in the UAE but abandoned the project. In 2014, it tried to outsource it altogether but failed again. Then the PCB acquired a new command, which set up a PSL Governing Council (GC) that got a new team of professionals and hired foreign consultants to advise on the PSL project. The GC took the plunge barely six months before a window of opportunity in February 2016 when all Pakistani and some international players were free from their international and domestic commitments.
Meanwhile, the Masters Champions League had muddied the waters by securing all the UAE stadiums in February 2016. The PSL tried to dissuade MCL without success. Then Team PSL went exploring to Qatar but couldn’t muster the required logistical support. It returned to Dubai and entered into some hard negotiations with the Emirates Cricket Board, finally managing to secure two stadiums for 15 days, with some overlap with the MCL. The looming India-Pakistan series in December 2015 in the UAE also cast a shadow. The broadcasters who provide the financial spine of all cricket matches weren’t enthusiastic about an upstart PSL that was scheduled just after the big-item bilateral Indo-Pak series and just before the ICC Asia Cup in Feb-March 2016 and T20 Championship in April. It was argued that with so much top cricket coming, there wouldn’t be sufficient financial juice in the advertising and sponsors market for an untried product like the PSL.
Undeterred, Team PSL invited bids from broadcasters. Only one –Ten Sports – showed up and offered a pittance. Not a single Pakistani channel had faith in the PSL. Suddenly, the project seemed stillborn. But Team PSL persevered. It cast around for the big media buying houses in Karachi. Only one showed some interest. Intense negotiations yielded a halfway house. PTV and TEN and GEO were then contacted for buying broadcasting time. Everybody – Venues, Broadcasters, Media Buying Houses – had PSL over a barrel. Take it or leave it, they said smugly.
Team PSL fought to whittle down exhorbitant demands. With high expenses forecast because of venue, production, foreign players and logistics costs, pressure mounted to increase non-broadcast revenue streams. Team PSL went into high gear, spreading the net for big business franchisees and sponsors. This was make or break. Thankfully, a crop of enthusiastic but hard-nosed franchisees and sponsors turned up, paving the way for PSL to scramble to the UAE one month later with pocket money to launch a campaign to lure the crowds to stadiums on working days. Somewhere in between, the team found time to lodge the franchisees in five star hotels in Dubai, apprise them of anti-corruption measures and establish Intel operations to deter match-fixing.
The PSL is a multi-dimensional, complex, difficult and multi-million dollar project. It has kicked off with a bang. The venues have got their pound of flesh. The advertisers and sponsors have got the eyeballs they wanted. The players have got bagsful of money. The franchisees are delighted with the increased value of their asset after the first edition and demand for a sixth and seventh team is already manifest. The PCB is smacking its lips in anticipation of forthcoming editions of the league. Most wonderfully, tens of millions of Pakistanis have got the passionate cricket they longed for. Indeed, the world has stood up and noted PSL with appreciation.
Well done, Team PSL. Take a bow.