How long before David Warner finally delivers?

While heading to the National Stadium today, the roads nearby seemed relatively calm—thanks to the Sunday holiday. Usually, when a match is scheduled, there’s heavy traffic for miles, but those days seem to be gone.

During the PSL, on working days, you could see long rows of vehicles, most of them people heading home from work. Traffic would often slow down near the stadium’s main gate due to VIP cars entering, leading regular folks to pray for cricket matches in Karachi to end soon so they could get home peacefully. This wasn’t the case in the past—people used to eagerly await matches. Now, Karachi seems disconnected from cricket.

In contrast, Lahore requires more walking to reach the stadium, yet people still show up in large numbers. In Karachi, roads are no longer blocked for matches, and a family member can drop others at the main gate and return after parking the car. However, public transport remains an issue.

A possible solution is to run shuttle buses—specific locations like shopping malls and other places can be designated for pick-up, where fans can show tickets and board the bus to the stadium. This wouldn’t cost millions. Similarly, if tickets were distributed through educational institutions, a few thousand more attendees could be drawn in. This isn’t just PCB’s responsibility—franchises should also work on building their brand.

David Warner was given 3 lakh USD by Karachi Kings, with some contribution from the cricket board. So far, Warner has only scored 46 runs—each run costing several lakhs. There’s still hope though; many Karachi fans pinned their hopes on each of the last four matches, thinking maybe today Warner will fire.

On Sunday too, the small crowd left disappointed, asking, How much longer must we wait for Warner to deliver a big innings? Now just one more chance remains in Karachi —maybe on Monday, fans at the National Stadium will finally get to see a flurry of boundaries and sixes from Warner.

Despite the low turnout in Karachi, whenever the PSL anthem or any song is played, the energy among the spectators surges. One major reason for the drop in crowds is Pakistan’s national team’s poor performance. Once the team starts winning again, fan anger will fade and stadiums will fill up again.

Even though there aren’t many big names in this PSL season, the matches usually attract attention globally due to their competitiveness. However, this time, the event has so far lacked excitement, with only the Karachi Kings vs. Multan Sultans match being truly thrilling. Until matches go down to the last over, with ties or super overs, fans won’t be engaged. Babar Azam continues to disappoint, and after one good innings, Mohammad Rizwan has also gone quiet.

This coming week, the matches will move to Multan and Lahore, where packed stadiums are expected. Islamabad United has been the standout team so far, with Shadab Khan continuing his impressive performances from last year.

On the other hand, making Saud Shakeel the captain of Quetta Gladiators doesn’t seem like the right decision—maybe due to a lack of options. Under Shaheen Afridi’s leadership, Lahore Qalandars have performed in line with expectations, though it’s still early in the season and performances can swing.

Multan Sultans have been quite disappointing this year. Once a title-winning and consistently competitive team, they now look completely off-color. Team owner Ali Tareen stirred controversy even before the tournament started with a series of negative statements.

While some of his points may have had merit, his tone and timing were not appropriate. Many believe that the franchise is now burdened by the annual fee of 1.08 billion rupees, which could rise to 1.5 billion after revaluation. Hence, some suspect that the franchise is looking for a way out. However, from what I’ve learned, like other franchises, the Sultans also expressed willingness to continue. Perhaps it’s just an attempt to pressure the board into lowering the fees, but the agreement doesn’t allow that. Other franchises wouldn’t agree to a re-bidding either.

There are also claims that former PCB officials who have now joined franchise are influencing opinions, and recent negative media coverage may be part of an orchestrated campaign. In Pakistan, there’s no concept of a “cooling-off period,” otherwise officials wouldn’t be allowed to immediately join franchises after leaving the board.

It also seems that talk of adding two new teams has unsettled existing franchises. If this progresses, it could lead to confrontations. However, there’s a positive side: Salman Naseer is now the CEO of the PSL. He has good relations with many franchise owners and can manage the situation well.

After the ICC’s revenue share, PSL is the second-biggest income source for Pakistan cricket. With zero investment from PCB and all expenses covered through franchise fees, it’s essential to grow the league further. PCB is expected to do just that. Franchise owners, on the other hand, should voice their concerns in the Governing Council meetings—muting mics there and raising a ruckus in the media won’t reduce their fees, but it will surely damage the league’s reputation.