Pakistan Super League finally set for UAE take off
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The much-blighted Pakistan Super League (PSL) will finally take off in February 2016 in the UAE, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced after a meeting of its Governing Board on Saturday.
The franchise-based PSL, based on the same format as the Indian Premier League, was first set to begin in 2008-09 but was shelved on several occasions hitherto on the account of prevailing security situation in Pakistan.
According to a PCB official present at the meeting on Saturday in Lahore, the cricket board had finally conceded that it would not be able to host the PSL in Pakistan and its temporary home, the UAE, had been finalised as the venue for the event.
PSL, the official said, would only be successful with the participation of foreign players and their reluctance to visit Pakistan had left the board with no choice but to organise the league abroad.
Rumours of the UAE being finalised as the venue for the PSL surfaced this week with Sports 360 quoting a senior PCB official as saying that they had already hired big-name consultants Repucom to help with organising the event. Repucom works with sports federations and clubs and its clients include the English Premier League, UEFA and FIFA and it has reportedly suggested that the inaugural PSL be a five-team only event.
The meeting of the Governing Board on Saturday was also called to discuss the national team's shambolic whitewash against Bangladesh this year as part of a review to improve its performance.
Pakistan were humiliated during their neighbour's April-May tour this year, which saw them slump to their lowest ever ranking in the ICC one-day international table of ninth after losing the one-day series in a 3-0 rout.
The defeat -- accompanied by another in a single Twenty20 international -- put Pakistan's participation in 2017 Champions Trophy in England in doubt as only the top eight teams will compete.
According the source, however, there was no concrete decisions taken in the review of the Bangladesh disaster.
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On DawnNews
Comments (56) Closed
Jun 13, 2015 07:18pm
Good luck Pakistan. we will rise again and no one can stop it.
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Jun 13, 2015 07:20pm
All pak cric fans were dismissing IPL for years. IPL this and IPL that... Now what happened? why follow the suit?
Accept it, IPL is a great business model that has helped developed cricket, cricket infrastructure in India and brought money to the players and game.
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Jun 13, 2015 07:21pm
It's of no use to Pakistan cricket, PCB should invest on Pakistan domestic cricket structure which needs a complete overhaul PSL will only be helpful if its been organised in Pakistan
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Jun 13, 2015 07:25pm
If you can't host tournament in your country, how do you expect international teams to come and play in your country?
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Jun 13, 2015 07:35pm
And will be a major flop just as SPL n BPL.
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Jun 13, 2015 07:40pm
@Imran Nobody is stopping Pak...
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Jun 13, 2015 07:41pm
Why UAE?
You are trying to portray to world that Pakistan is safe and all countries should visit Pakistan for cricket.
And then you hold PSL in UAE!!!
So all your big claims of safety were baseless!!
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Jun 13, 2015 07:46pm
Afridi always preferred hitting 6s with his eyes closed. Such is the style of BOOM BOOM!
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Jun 13, 2015 07:50pm
It would be world class effort by pakistan .
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Jun 13, 2015 08:02pm
At this point in time, it is not in Pakistan's national interest to hold this league in a foreign country that treats Pakistanis like garbage. It can wait.
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Jun 13, 2015 08:28pm
Excellent news. Looking forward to the PSL.
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Jun 13, 2015 08:46pm
Lol..another fiasco in the making. So no Pakistani audience will ever get to see the match. UAE Will demand a cut of the ground earnings.
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Jun 13, 2015 08:46pm
Time for a reality check:-)All the best..
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Jun 13, 2015 08:50pm
excellent idea. this will be very fruitful for our team to improve their cricket and we can show a positive side of our country towards other
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Jun 13, 2015 08:54pm
Very stupid decision of PCB to hold PSL in Dubai which will send wrong signal to to other countries that Pakistan is unsafe. PCB is ruined for good as Pakistan is on verge of missing on Champions Trophy, otherwise which would have been a formality. Nothing done to overcome bad performance.
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Jun 13, 2015 09:29pm
Come on Pakistan time to rise again. Let's invest in Pakistan sport. Pakistan zindabad
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Jun 13, 2015 09:43pm
@filmwala no comments
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Jun 13, 2015 10:19pm
why not in Pakistan?
PM must notice, want to see this tournament in Pakistan
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Jun 13, 2015 10:28pm
This will again send wrong signals to the world that Pakistan is not safe and not confident enough to conduct their own initiatives in their own country. Take some bold steps brothers.
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Jun 13, 2015 10:45pm
Good for someone but not for cricket fan because it is organizing abroad.
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Jun 13, 2015 10:54pm
@Usman badsha Indeed excellent idea. when it is IPL then it's business but when PSL its cricket :)
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Jun 13, 2015 10:58pm
Why not in Pakistan? if it is a Pakistani league. Does not matter if many foreign players comes or not. There are many who will come. What message are we giving to the world by organizing our cricket league in UAE.
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Jun 13, 2015 11:11pm
This is bad decision ..... these 20 20 league will destroy the players ability to play test cricket ... like now days Indian players forgot to play test cricket.
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Jun 13, 2015 11:35pm
@Aviral: It won't be a flop, as Pakistanis will follow the league and Pakistan is a major market of cricket. Besides, there is no shortage of sponsors and big corporations here who will want to take a slice of their own. I daresay the player salaries will be higher than many other leagues.
If PSL according to you is a flop, then even the IPL is a flop, as no one apart from Indians watch that fixed league.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:01am
UAE is a better choice! Good luck Pakistan
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Jun 14, 2015 12:03am
Good news for domestic as well as global cricket fraternities.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:32am
Any IPL style tournament outside of Pakistan (and in the UAE) will have severe attendance problem in the long run. It will carry very little entertainment value. Financially, It may drain out PCB, so it may not be financially feasible. Moreover, this will not be an ideal tournament for a fillip to ODI preparation.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:36am
Good luck guys.
Let first two seasons be held at UAE. From 3rd season, play a few matches at safe places like Lahore (like you did against Zim).
Start with foreign players from WI, SL, BD, Zim, Afg. Rope in players of sub-continent origin from the remaining countries. Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir, Parnell, Moin, Arshad, Usman, Fawad will be good reps from 'white' countries. There may be a few more such players.
Make PSL happen; once it starts rolling it gains mass and, doubting/hesitant Toms will join on their own without any need to cajole them.
Good luck again.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:47am
it's not gonna work PCB should pay attention on Pakistan's domestic cricket structure
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Jun 14, 2015 01:36am
If this gives some extra money for players, then its fine!
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Jun 14, 2015 02:11am
Good luck.
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Jun 14, 2015 02:34am
Not good Idea in UAE, what signal you are giving world, PCB used Pakistani venue, this world will recognize PCB efforts, two wrong can not make one right, chairman your first decision to have coach from sydney and Captain from 2013 not played cricket, Pak team is in damaging stage, you try Pakistani venue.
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Jun 14, 2015 02:46am
Another PCB initiative doomed for failure! Organising a league outside of its host country, this does not appear to be a financially viable venture at all.
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Jun 14, 2015 03:15am
Was it not only two weeks ago that PCB and Pak People proclaimed that Pak Land was SAFE and INTERNATIONAL CRICKET had returned to the Pak Land???
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Jun 14, 2015 03:16am
Zimbabwe team was bribed to visit Pakistan but PSL will be held in UAE. What a shameless display of self contradiction!! The league will only be successful when foreign players will participate. How many foreign players have agreed to participate? Looks like no-one.
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Jun 14, 2015 04:21am
What if UAE refuses .....the recent friction isnt a story of distant past
Who makes financial profits if UAE is hosting and country men can not watch their own players
Would we take in Indian player?
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Jun 14, 2015 04:28am
PCB should have conducted Pakistan Super Leagues in the country. Open all the stadiums and declare two miles radius around as Cantonment area, once safety and security is ensured by our pride Army, we would have surprised the Cricket World how well attended and well managed our tournaments are. School children should get free seasons passes, get subsidized bus transportation and stadium management should allow sandwiches and soda. PCB is now used to staying overseas in five star hotels, why should they ever conduct super leagues in the country?
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Jun 14, 2015 05:05am
Until PCB can ensure the big bucks (or more) than the IPL offers the players, the PSL cannot be a success .....what makes the IPL a success is the money that the players make.... without that, no one will be interested!! That said, nothing's impossible - so good luck Pakistan!!
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Jun 14, 2015 07:09am
@Lyra this has nothing to do with how safe Pakistan is. PSL needs international players and at this stage not many international players are ready to come to Pakistan. The process of changing Pakistan's threat assessment will take -another 12 to 18 months. In the meantime it's better to give our players some exposure than nothing
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Jun 14, 2015 07:19am
Too little, too late.
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Jun 14, 2015 07:24am
Someone just tweeted today that this idea was proposed years ago: https://hussainrammal.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/sporting-a-new-attitude/
I wonder what has taken PCB this long?
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Jun 14, 2015 08:45am
Quite challenging, seeing the cost per mach and number of grounds and total population of UAE. I fear matches may not earn enough gate money to pay the expenses. All will depend on broadcasting contracts and sponsors. I hope PCB has made market research and feasibility reports before cracking this news.
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Jun 14, 2015 08:51am
All the best
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Jun 14, 2015 09:26am
@Raghu THE cricketing giants is trying to dominate the cricket by hook or by crook.One step in this regard is containing pak talent through various means such as doping tests. bowling actions etc etc
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Jun 14, 2015 09:27am
PSL in UAE
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Jun 14, 2015 10:23am
Excellent idea of having 5 teams only.If the pakistan Players all play and a few international players it will be a success as a huge Pakistani diaspora lives there. Plus if they cut out the bollywood nonsense of the IPL and concentrate on quality cricket i see it as a nice carnival at an international tourist place.
Good Luck
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Jun 14, 2015 10:30am
this surely will bring more competition for our Pakistani young cricketers to play in PSL. All the best to Pakistan success in PSL.
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Jun 14, 2015 10:34am
with all respect to our board, please don't hesitate to contact Indian players. Show them Ur heart, they ll definitely c their own.
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Jun 14, 2015 11:27am
Let's see what happens.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:14pm
PSL should be made a local tournament, and a successful one too. Slowly foreign players should be introduced.
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Jun 14, 2015 12:30pm
Why in UAE. There won't be enough cricket fans to enjoy matches in that place. Do it in Palistan . At least the spectators would be there and the players would be all Pakistanis. Others might come if they feel it is safe.
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Jun 14, 2015 02:31pm
@filmwala film walay bhai
IPL is bad because of the fixed matches and gambling that is tarnishing the spirit of the sport.
if we are going to do the same then 2 wrongs do not make a right.
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Jun 14, 2015 03:24pm
@asgher
Brother, every coin has two sides.
May be IPL is fixed. I see it as a form of business and entertainment.It has given young players a chance to shine.
But the rule is simple, perform and earn. I don't think it has tarnished anybody's image. It has infact made careers of players like steve smith, watson, maxwell and many more who wudn't have made it to their respective national teams, otherwise.
Everything evolves. This is evolution of game. If we hadn't evolve, we wud still be enjoying caveman lifestyle!
Peace to all!
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Jun 14, 2015 04:10pm
@Ali yeah, but a lot of indians watch, around 30% of the population watches means its a huge viewership.
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Jun 14, 2015 05:23pm
@Ali dear, every one from Aus, SA, SL watches cricket. Even Pakistan players want to play IPL. I dont see any Indian players playing in any other league.
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Jun 14, 2015 05:25pm
@ALI I dont see Pakistan as a major cricketing nation at all. They might be a good one but certainly they dont have the capacity to attract the viewership as any BCCI governed game has. Simple as that.
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