LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will launch a second round to sell the media rights for the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 after initial bids completed last week failed to meet its reserve price, sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

The league, which has become the flagship event of the PCB’s domestic calendar, is scheduled to begin on March 26 this year.

Sources told Dawn that the board had set a high base price for the bidding, anticipating strong interest as the tournament expands for the first time from six to eight competing teams.

When contacted, a PCB media official confirmed that the process to sell the media rights for the 2026 edition remains ongoing.

The official stated that the first phase of bidding had already yielded a better financial offer than the previous PSL edition. However, the board is continuing its efforts to secure a higher price.

It is learnt that rather than immediately initiating a formal second round of bidding, the PCB is currently engaged in direct negotiations with the parties that participated in the initial process in an attempt to increase their offered amounts.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2026