Islamabad: Najam Sethi, who is heading a panel governing the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) affairs till a chairman is elected, said on Friday that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was the “biggest T20 brand” after the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he announced the schedule for the eighth edition of the tournament.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Sethi said: “I think you will appreciate that over the years, PSL is the biggest T20 brand in the private sector after the IPL.”

He said that this was evident by the fact that there were “three to four” other T20 leagues currently under way in the world and “all of them have planned their leagues before us”.

“They know that maybe if they enter into a competition with us then they won’t be able to compete in terms of prestige and value.

“So that is a sign that our PSL is flying high. This momentum has been kept going by previous administrations and we will continue it as well,” he added.

Sethi said the league’s previous edition was particularly lucrative with the participation of international and domestic players. He further said that the eighth edition would be a similarly “star-studded” event.

Separately, a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) quoted Sethi as saying that the tournament would be a “massive event” with the “world’s best T20 cricketers in action”. “We aim to make the HBL PSL bigger, better and stronger than ever before with the overarching ambition to make it the first-choice event for leading T20 cricketers.”

According to the press release, the league will kick off on February 13 in Multan and culminate on March 19 in Lahore. “Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi will share between them the 34-match tournament, and the event schedule has been designed in such a way that the four home sides will each play five matches in front of their fans and supporters — one against each side,” the press release said.

It added that the tournament would be held in two legs with the Multan Cricket Stadium and the National Bank Cricket Arena splitting matches from Feb 13-26 before shifting to the Gaddafi Stadium and Pindi Cricket Stadium where the matches would be played from Feb 26-Mar 19.

The PCB also said that the PSL would include the “soft launch” of the Pakistan Women’s League with three exhibition matches being played in the lead-up to the men’s matches in Rawalpindi on Mar 8, 10 and 11.

“The two women’s sides are expected to comprise leading local and foreign players, details of which will be announced in due course,” the PCB said.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 21 2023

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