Pakistan Super League

History

Main article: History of the Pakistan Super League

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. The UAE 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 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.

Expansion

The league expanded to six franchises with the inclusion of Multan Sultans for the 2018 season. The PCB had shortlisted Faisalabad, FATA, Hyderabad, Dera Murad Jamali and Multan as candidate cities, with several political and regional stakeholders expressing interest in securing representation for their areas. Multan Sultans was announced as the new franchise on 1 June 2017, purchased by Schön Properties for US$5.2 million per year. On 10 November 2018, the PCB terminated the franchise agreement with Schön Properties, after which new owners took control and retained the Multan Sultans name.

Ahead of the 2026 season, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed the league would expand from six to eight teams, Six candidate cities were shortlisted for the new franchises: Hyderabad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, Faisalabad, Gilgit and Rawalpindi, with Sialkot and Hyderabad being awarded the new places.

Profits

In May 2016, the PCB announced that the inaugural season of the PSL had yielded profits of . The 2023 edition recorded revenue of Over Rs. 5 Billion. The revenue was accumulated through various sources, including broadcasting rights, title sponsorship, gate money, and other related rights.

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. However, 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:

1. Higher number of points
2. If equal, better run rate
3. If equal, highest number of wins
4. If equal, fewest losses
5. 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.

Schedule

The PSL traditionally been held between February and March each year, with the only major disruption occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The league previously took place before the start of the Indian Premier League. The 2025 season was the last to be held in the traditional February–March slot, during which it overlapped with the IPL for the first time. However, scheduling changes announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2025 confirmed that from the 2026 season onward, the PSL would move to an April–May window to improve overseas player availability and avoid weather disruptions. 2026 Pakistan Super League will start on 26 March and will end on 3 May

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 , 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 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 .

In November 2025, following the conclusion of the original ten-year agreements, the PCB conducted a re-evaluation of franchise values through Ernst & Young. The financial model was shifted from US dollars to Pakistani Rupees for the next ten-year cycle (2026–2035). Five of the original six franchises renewed their rights under the new valuation terms, with annual fees set at for Lahore Qalandars, for Karachi Kings, for Peshawar Zalmi, for Islamabad United, and for Quetta Gladiators. As of late November 2025, Multan Sultans had not yet finalized a renewal agreement.

The PCB confirmed that the PSL would expand from six to eight teams beginning with the 2026 season, following the expiry of the original franchise agreements after the 2025 edition. In November 2025 the PCB published a shortlist of six candidate cities for the two new franchises: Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad and Sialkot. On 8 January, the new teams were announced to be representing the cities Hyderabad and Sialkot, with FSK and OZ Developers winning the bid with and respectively.

;Notes

Results

Main article: List of Pakistan Super League records and statistics

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. Islamabad United became first team to win three title on 18 March 2024 when they defeated Multan Sultans by 2 wickets. It was Multan's fourth consecutive final and third consecutive runner up finish. Lahore Qalandars also won their third title by defeating Quetta Gladiators by 6 wickets in 25 May 2025. Shaheen Afridi is most successful captain of the League.

Final results

Team results

; Key:

• : Winner;
• : Runner-up;
• PO: Eliminated in the play-off stage
• Grp: Eliminated in the group stage

Champions

Teams are ranked by the number of titles won, in case of a tie, the team with more runner-up appearances is ranked higher and then by alphabetical order.

Trophy

From its inception, the Pakistan Super League has featured new trophy designs for most editions. The inaugural 2016 "Shooting Star" trophy was designed by Swarovski and unveiled in Dubai ahead of the first season, followed by the "Spirit Trophy" in 2017 which continued Swarovski’s involvement. Similar Swarovski-made trophies were used in the 2018 and 2019 seasons before production shifted to Pakistan.

On 19 February 2020, the first domestically made trophy was unveiled by squash legend Jahangir Khan and PCB chairman Ehsan Mani at the National Stadium, Karachi. The 65-centimetre-tall, eight-kilogram design featuring a crescent and star was used from 2020 to 2022, with each champion’s name engraved on its base. In 2023, a new silver-plated "Supernova" trophy, crafted by Lahore-based Mahfooz Jewellers, was introduced at the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, the first to be fully produced in Pakistan.

The most recent design, the "Luminara", was revealed on 14 March 2025 through a video on the PSL’s official YouTube channel. It incorporated luminous crystal and reflective metalwork to mark a decade of PSL cricket.

Individual awards

The Hanif Mohammad award and a green cap are awarded to the leading run-scorer. It is an ongoing competition with the leading run-scorer wearing the cap throughout the tournament until the final game, with the eventual winner keeping the cap and receiving the award for the season. The Fazal Mahmood award and a maroon cap are awarded to the leading wicket-taker in the same way whilst the Imtiaz Ahmed award is awarded to the best wicket-keeper. All three awards were introduced in the second PSL season.

Sponsorship

The PSL's initial title sponsorship was awarded to HBL Pakistan for three years in December 2015. At that time sponsorship deals for the league, including the title sponsorship, were estimated to be worth more than US$6 million. HBL renewed its title sponsorship in 2018 and again in 2021, extending its arrangement through the 2025 season.

In October 2025, HBL extended its title sponsorship for two further PSL seasons (2026–2027). The value of the title sponsorship agreement increased 505% compared to the original 2016 deal.

Broadcasters

The league signed a broadcast production deal with UK–based company Sunset and Vine for the first three seasons of the competition. Domestically TV broadcast rights were sold to PTV Sports and Ten Sports for the same period, with digital broadcast rights sold to YouTube in Pakistan for the first season. The digital rights were subsequently sold cricketgateway.

For the period from 2019 to 2021, broadcast rights were sold to Blitz Advertising. Domestic TV rights for the same period were acquired by PTV Sports and Geo Network with cricketgateway retaining the digital rights.

From 2021 to 2025 broadcast rights were sold to TransGroup International with PTV Sports, A Sports and Ten Sports having the domestic broadcast rights until 2023. A Sports and Walee Technologies acquired these rights for the 2024–2025 seasons along with the digital streaming rights which had been sold to Daraz for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

List of global broadcasters

Other media

Hamaray Heroes

Main article: HBL PSL Hamaray Heroes Award

The HBL PSL Hamaray Heroes campaign was introduced in 2020 season. The initiative rewarded prominent Pakistanis like squash player Farhan Mehboob, founder of ACF Animal Rescue Ayesha Chundrigar, mountaineer Ali Sadpara, and professional eSports player Arslan Ash. A total of 32 HBL PSL Hamaray Heroes Awards were handed out during the 2020 season.

Cancer awareness

Since 2019, the league has reserved a day for breast cancer awareness, with a pink ribbon theme. A day has also been set aside to raise awareness of childhood cancer with a gold ribbon.

References

References

1. "Pakistan Super League Trophy batting most runs career".
2. "Pakistan Super League Trophy bowling most wickets career".
3. "PCB eyes lucrative deals after 'securing' windows for PSL editions". www.thenews.com.pk.
4. (8 September 2015). "Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja becomes official ambassadors for PSL". The Express Tribune.
5. (21 September 2015). "Pakistan Super League set to be moved to UAE".
6. Mahmood, Rishad. (4 February 2016). "Pakistan Super League: Morale booster or gimmick?".
7. (4 February 2016). "PSL kicks off with colourful ceremony in Dubai".
8. Nauman, Qasim. (23 February 2016). "Pakistan Super League: Twenty20 Underdogs Quetta Gladiators Emerge as Favorites in Final". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
9. "Dubai, Sharjah venues for Pakistan Super League". Cricinfo.
10. (15 December 2015). "Pakistan Super League: Draft pick order decided, logo launched". The Express Tribune.
11. (14 March 2017). "Back From Exile, Pakistan's Cricket Push Lures Advertisers". Bloomberg.
12. Ahmed, Khurshid. (29 February 2020). "PSL 2020 spurs business boom at home". Arab News.
13. "PCB shortlists five possible region as 6th team in PSL 3". GEO News.
14. (7 March 2017). "FATA name coming up as sixth team in PSL 2018". The Express tribune.
15. (1 June 2017). "Pakistan Super League gets sixth team". ARY News.
16. (1 June 2017). "PCB announces Multan as sixth PSL franchise". Samaa TV.
17. (11 November 2018). "PCB terminates franchise agreement with Schon Group for Multan Sultans". Dawn.
18. (17 May 2024). "PCB confirms PSL expansion from 2026 with two new teams". ESPNcricinfo.
19. (14 November 2025). "PCB confirms six‑city shortlist for two new PSL teams". Dawn.
20. AFP. (3 May 2016). "PCB reaps $2.6m profit from Pakistan Super League". [[The Express Tribune]].
21. (26 June 2023). "PCB earns more than Rs.5 billion from PSL 8".
22. (26 June 2023). "PSL 8 Strikes Gold: Records Revenue of Over Rs. 5 Billion".
23. (17 August 2022). "Pakistan Super League to clash with IPL in 2025, here's why". WIO News.
24. (18 May 2024). "Franchises, PCB all but agree over eight-team PSL, April–May window". Dawn.
25. (21 September 2015). "PSL promises IPL style Cricket". NDTV Sports.
26. (18 October 2015). "PCB invites bids for Pakistan Super League franchises". Ali Zain.
27. (18 October 2015). "PCB initiates bids for Pakistan Super League franchises". [[Cricbuzz]].
28. Nabeel Hashmi. "Pakistan Super League: Seven companies fight it out to buy franchises". The Express Tribune.
29. Umar Farooq. (3 December 2015). "PCB sells five PSL teams for $93m". ESPNcricinfo.
30. "PCB invites bids for sixth PSL team". Pakistan Observer.
31. (June 2017). "Multan becomes PSL's sixth franchise as Schon Group buys franchise". The Express Tribune.
32. (25 November 2025). "Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings renew 10-year PSL deals". Daily Times.
33. (25 November 2025). "Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi renew PSL rights for 10 years". CricTracker.
34. (25 November 2025). "Comment: Will three PSL teams be sold?". The Express Tribune.
35. (17 May 2024). "PCB confirms PSL expansion from 2026 with two new teams". ESPNcricinfo.
36. (14 March 2025). "HBL PSL to add two more teams, new host cities next season". The Express Tribune.
37. (14 November 2025). "PCB confirms six-city shortlist for two new PSL teams". Dawn.
38. Zulfiqar Baig. (8 January 2026). "Sialkot, Hyderabad enter HBL PSL after Rs3.6b auction". The Express Tribune.
39. Yaqoob, Mohammad. (7 February 2016). "SPORTS DIARY: Pros and cons of PSL in UAE".
40. (23 February 2016). "PSL — Sold out finale could provide perfect climax to Pakistan's 'dream'".
41. (18 March 2019). "PSL Final 2019: Quetta Gladiators clinch maiden PSL title". The News International.
42. (4 February 2016). "PSL 'Shooting Star' trophy unveiled". The News International.
43. (1 February 2017). "PSL 2017 trophy unveiled in Dubai". Dawn.
44. (20 February 2018). "HBL PSL Trophy unveiled amid fanfare". Pakistan Cricket Board.
45. (12 February 2019). "PSL 2019 Trophy unveiled in Dubai". Pakistan Cricket Board.
46. Imran Siddique. (20 February 2020). "PSL 2020 trophy unveiled at Karachi's National Stadium". Dawn.
47. PakistanSuperLeague. (9 February 2023). "🏆 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐔𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋 🏆 📸 First look at the #HBLPSL8 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢 Trophy at the historic Shalimar Gardens ✨ Read more ➡️ https://t.co/34hSJ7rogS #SabSitarayHumaray https://t.co/Nds1Ife9mf".
48. (9 February 2023). "PSL 8 trophy unveiled in Lahore".
49. Pakistan Super League. (13 March 2025). "HBL PSL X Trophy Unveiled in Style! 🌊🏆 Meet '𝐋𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐚' 🤩".
50. (14 February 2024). "PSL Trophy Designs 2016–2024: Visual history of trophies". CricTracker.
51. (8 February 2017). "Late Abdul Sattar Edhi honoured by PSL with caps, bat". Dawn.
52. (7 February 2017). "PSL 2017 'The Spirit Trophy' unveiled in Dubai". [[Dunya News]].
53. (16 December 2015). "HBL becomes title sponsor of first-ever PSL". Business Recorder.
54. "Pakistan Super League ropes in HBL bank as title sponsors". Gulf News.
55. (19 November 2021). "HBL to retain PSL title sponsorship until 2025". Dawn.
56. (10 January 2014). "HBL shatters records – Retains Title Sponsorship of PSL".
57. (30 October 2025). "HBL retains PSL title sponsorship in landmark deal through 2027". CricExec.
58. "HBL renews its title sponsorship for PSL-T20 league". PSL-T20.com.
59. (31 October 2015). "Pakistan Super League has signed a broadcast production deal". Pakistan Cricket Board.
60. (3 December 2015). "Pakistan Super League marches on!". Pakistan Cricket Board.
61. (3 February 2016). "HBL Pakistan Super League to be streamed live on Youtube!". Pakistan Cricket Board.
62. (3 February 2017). "PSL 2017 sets high viewership benchmark for future sports events". dailytimes.com.pk.
63. (17 February 2017). "PSL Live Streaming & TV Channels Broadcasting Rights PSL T20 2018". cricketzine.com.
64. (21 December 2018). "PCB HITS A SIX ON HBL PSL BROADCAST AND LIVE-STREAMING RIGHTS". Pakistan Cricket Board.
65. (19 February 2019). "PCB appoints new live production partner for HBL PSL 2019". Pakistan Cricket Board.
66. (30 January 2020). "PCB announces consortium of Tower Sports and SportzWorkz as production partner for HBL PSL 2020". Pakistan Cricket Board.
67. (3 January 2021). "Mammoth surge in HBL PSL brand partnership rights". Pakistan Cricket Board.
68. (23 December 2021). "HBL PSL TV broadcast rights see an increase of 50%". Pakistan Cricket Board.
69. (10 January 2022). "PCB signs landmark TV broadcast agreement with ARY-PTV consortium". Pakistan Cricket Board.
70. (24 December 2021). "HBL PSL live-streaming rights see 175 per cent increase". Pakistan Cricket Board.
71. (10 January 2024). "HBL PSL media rights see a massive increase". Pakistan Cricket Board.
72. (17 February 2024). "The day is finally here when the 9th season of the #PakistanSuperLeague begins The first match of the #PSL9 season Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars Who'll take the win in the opening game #PSL9 #PSL2024 #KhulKeKhel #Cricket #TenSportsHD". facebook.com/TenSportsPakistanOfficial.
73. (17 February 2024). "The day is finally here when the 9th season of the #PakistanSuperLeague begins the first match of the #PSL9 season Islamabad United Lahore Qalandars Who'll take the opening game #PSL9 #PSL2024 #KhulKeKhel #Cricket #TenSportsHD". facebook.com/TenSportsPakistanOfficial.
74. (5 February 2024). "We are honored and proud to announce yet another groundbreaking achievement which will definitely revolutionize #cricket fans' viewing experience myco has successfully secured the rights for HBL #PSL Season 9 & 10 Huge congratulations to the team who managed to achieve this massive milestone in our sports #streaming lineup myco lagao #psl2024". facebook.com/myco.io.official.
75. (10 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on SnackVideo Pakistan, our Official Live Streaming Partner for the Pakistan Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
76. (7 February 2024). "Ab Dekh Tamasha HBL PSL ke junoon ka Aik baar phir cricket ka maidaan sajay ga aur khel jamay ga Stream karo HBL PSL season 9 starting on 17th Feb for FREE in HD only on Tamasha Download the app now onelink.to/sg2fps". facebook.com/tamashadigital.
77. (10 January 2024). "BIG NEWS CRICKET FANS! tapmad is set to elevate your PSL 9 experience Enjoy every moment in HD, and guess what No ads to break the excitement #HBLPSL9 #HojaoADFree #tapmad". facebook.com/tapmadsports.
78. (15 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on SuperSport, our Official Broadcast Partner for the Sub-Saharan Africa Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
79. (15 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Fox Cricket our Official Broadcast Partner for the Australian Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
80. (17 February 2024). "পিএসএল সরাসরি দেখতে চোখ রাখুন টি স্পোর্টসে।". facebook.com/tsportsbd.
81. (10 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Tapmad Sports our Official Broadcast Partner for the Bangladesh Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
82. (10 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Flow Sports our Official Broadcast Partner for the Caribbean Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
83. (10 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on FanCode our Official Broadcast Partner for India #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
84. (10 February 2024). "Babar Shaheen Rizwan Pakistan's Biggest Stars are ready Catch Live Action from the PakistanSuperLeague on Cricbuzz (Only in Middle East regions) Streaming from 17th February #PSL9". facebook.com/cricbuzz.
85. (16 February 2024). "Pakistan Super League is coming to your screens exclusively on Action Sports HD Get ready to catch all the action LIVE on DishHome #DishHome #khusikoconnection #PSL #CricketFever #ActionSportsHD #DishHome #ExclusiveCoverage".
86. (10 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Tapmad Sports our Official Broadcast Partner for the Nepal Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
87. (15 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Sky Sport NZ, our Official Broadcast Partner for the New Zealand Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
88. (10 February 2024). "Babar Shaheen Rizwan Pakistan's Biggest Stars are ready Catch Live Action from the PakistanSuperLeague on Cricbuzz (Only in North Africa regions) Streaming from 17th February #PSL9". facebook.com/cricbuzz.
89. (10 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Willow, our Official Broadcast Partner for the North American Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
90. (10 February 2024). "Babar Shaheen Rizwan Pakistan's Biggest Stars are ready Catch Live Action from the PakistanSuperLeague on Cricbuzz (Only in South East Asia regions) Streaming from 17th February #PSL9". facebook.com/cricbuzz.
91. (20 February 2024). "Multan Sultans take on Islamabad United in the 5th match of Pakistan Super League 2024 at Multan Cricket Stadium #PSL2024 #MSvIU #ThePapare Watch Pakistan Super League on ThePapare Sri Lanka's No.1 Sports Channel Available on Dialog Television Channel 63 Dialog ViU App ThePapare.com". facebook.com/thepaparecricket.
92. (8 February 2024). "PSL-9 matches to be broadcast on Geo TV in UK". The News International.
93. (15 February 2024). "Watch every exciting moment of #HBLPSL9 LIVE on Sky Sports our Pay TV & Digital Broadcast Partner for the UK Region #KhulKeKhel". facebook.com/thePSL.
94. (31 January 2024). "HBL PSL international media rights see a 41 percent increase". Pakistan Cricket Board.
95. "HBL Pakistan Super League".
96. (13 February 2019). "PSL 2019 to observe childhood cancer and breast cancer awareness days". The News.
97. (25 January 2022). "PSL 7: PCB to embark breast and childhood cancer awareness initiatives". A Sports.