Proposal presented to start HBL PSL 7 on January 25

A proposal to start the HBL Pakistan Super League season 7 on January 25 has been presented, according to sources. 

It was originally expected that the tournament will begin in the first week of January, next year, but a clash with the Emirates Cricket League is likely to cause a delay. 

The Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is also the Acting Chairman, Wasim Khan led a virtual meeting with franchise owners in which they were updated about the development.

The delay would also lead to lesser weather interferences during the matches in Lahore.

Another positive outcome of the delay could be that foreign players participating in the Big Bash League (BBL), which will be played from December 15 to January 28, will be free to participate in a majority of HBL PSL matches.

According to the original schedule, the first 17 matches of the HBL PSL 7 were scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in Karachi while the remaining matches along with the finals were expected to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The final was expected to be played on February 14.

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The new schedule could see the tournament close out with a final on February 24.

It should be noted that the PSL, since its inception in 2016, has been played in the February-March window which was changed for next year to make room for a home series against Australia.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is expected to be played in April-May and holding the PSL in that window can severely impact sponsorships and broadcasting deals while foreign players’ availability would be another major obstacle.

On the other hand, franchise owners have expressed their interest in meeting with the expected future chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja.

The franchise owners want a quick approval for the new financial model however CEO Wasim Khan asked for a time period of one and a half months.

The CEO also rejected the request made by franchise owners to disclose the retired judge’s report on the financial model, stating that it needed to be presented to the Board of Governors (BoG) first.