The Pakistan Super League (PSL), the country’s franchise-based Twenty20 league, received it first major setback as organisers announced that the planned start to the tournament had been pushed back from its March-April schedule.

According to an official Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) statement, the decision to postpone the league was made to accommodate the investors interested in buying the five franchises.

“The concerns expressed by the stakeholders on tight timelines for submission of bids & leveraging of assets, hold merit,” the statement said.

The press release further stated that 80 international players had signed for the PSL auction but the process of acquiring NOCs was still underway and would require time.

Furthermore, scheduling conflicts which arose after the PSL dates were announced could result in potential star players not being able to take part.

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 26 March to 7 April and the delay is unlikely to instill any confidence in the league already blighted by safety concerns and a warning from the head of the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) not to take part in the event because of the “unmanageable” security risk.