PSL may move to January in major schedule shake-up

KARACHI: The Pakistan Super League could be heading for an earlier start next year, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and owners of all eight franchises considering a proposal to stage the tournament in January instead of April-May.

The proposal was discussed during a PSL Governing Council meeting in London, according to a report by ESPNcricinfo. The main argument behind the possible shift is concern over limited advertising revenue during the April-May window.

Franchise owners, however, have raised an important question: whenever the tournament is played, will they receive their full share of broadcast revenue? Concerns have grown after television rights failed to generate revenue at the level previously expected.

Under the current PSL agreement, franchises receive 95 per cent of broadcast revenue from the central revenue pool.

The first nine editions of the PSL were held in February and March. The tournament was moved to April-May in 2025 because of the ICC Champions Trophy and remained in that window this year due to the T20 World Cup. That change also placed the PSL alongside the Indian Premier League.

Playing alongside the IPL had one advantage: overseas players were often available for longer. Returning to January-February, however, could create fresh competition from leagues such as South Africa’s SA20 and Australia’s Big Bash League, potentially making international player recruitment more difficult.

Weather could present another headache. Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi — three of the PSL’s traditional venues — are in Punjab, where January and February can bring cold temperatures and dense fog. Night matches could become particularly challenging, while fog may disrupt travel and scheduling.

One possible solution is to start the tournament in Karachi, where winter weather is generally milder, before moving matches to Punjab and Peshawar later in the competition as temperatures improve.

The timing may also be practical from an international cricket perspective. Pakistan currently has a relatively clear window from mid-November to March, with home assignments against Sri Lanka and England scheduled for October-November and a two-Test series against New Zealand in March.

For now, January remains a proposal rather than a confirmed decision. But if approved, the change could reshape the PSL calendar and bring Pakistan’s biggest domestic T20 tournament back to the season in which it originally established itself.