ISLAMABAD: Since its launch in 2016, Pakistan Super League, a domestic cricket league, has lured top names in international cricket, catapulted new talent to global fame, cultivated a loyal base of millions of fans, drawn corporate sponsorships from multinational firms selling everything from cellphones to real estate and doled out salaries comparable to other international leagues to become what is, arguably, the biggest brand in Pakistan.
In getting here, the Pakistan Super League tournament has transformed the business of cricket in Pakistan. Last year, Pakistan’s biggest bank, Habib Bank Limited, reacquired the title sponsorship of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) flagship tournament for another four-year cycle (2022-2025), Arab News report said.
PCB announced at the time that HBL had not only exceeded the reserve price in reacquiring the rights “but sealed it with a 55 percent jump from the last cycle, which speaks volumes of their belief in the PSL brand. Previously, PCB had signed a three-year deal with HBL (2019-2021) for $14.5 million. The first deal, which was signed in 2016 when PSL was launched, was for $5.2 million (2016-2018).
The price to acquire the digital streaming rights for PSL, which features the fast and furious, made-for-tv brand of cricket called Twenty20, has also skyrocketed. The highest bid for this edition was submitted by Daraz and marked a 175 percent increase from the last two years, Arab news reported .
PSL also signed a two-year broadcast deal worth $24 million with local sports channels A Sports and PTV Sports, a 50 percent increase from the last cycle.
The six-team league has also drawn record television and digital viewership over the years.
Over 80 million people, roughly 70 percent of Pakistan’s TV-viewing public, tuned in to watch the final game of the 2019 edition of PSL, the last one before coronavirus-related disruptions and postponements hit the series.
“This proves that the PSL is a strong brand and its commercial partners see [financial] value in it, ” Samiul Hasan Burney, a media and communications director at PCB, said in an interview with Arab News, commenting on the increase in the sale price of the broadcasting and live streaming rights.
It was “the quality of cricket, ” he said, that had made PSL the brand it was today.
“Any [cricket] brand rises because of the quality of cricket on display, ” Burney said. “Credit goes to the PCB management, its delivery and the fact that it turned PSL into a brand that sponsors would want to associate themselves with.”
As per the recent agreement between the PCB and the six franchises, he said, the board received 5 percent of the revenue generated by the league, while the rest went to the franchises. Both the board and the franchises then willingly invested the money back into Pakistan cricket.
“When PCB makes that 5 percent revenue, it will reinvest it into Pakistan cricket, ” Burney said. “Be it in the form of player welfare, pathways development, infrastructure or women’s cricket, whatever money the PCB earns, it will obviously be reinvested [in Pakistan cricket].”
Other than being a coming of age for the business of sports in Pakistan, PSL has also been a turning-point for young Pakistani cricketers who, because of international isolation, had missed out on opportunities to learn from leading international players.
“They hadn’t even dreamed of sharing dressing rooms with some of them [international stars] … This is a rich learning experience for our youngsters, ” Aalia Rasheed, Pakistan’s first female cricket anchor said. “Big names like Viv Richards are sharing stories with young cricketers and talking to them about his techniques which goes a long way in helping them. It is amazing to see legends like Wasim Akram, Hashim Amla and various other big names associated with the PSL.”
PSL had now become the golden standard for young players, ” Rasheed said.
“They perform in Pakistan’s domestic structure and give their best in international T20Is so that they can be selected for the next PSL.”
“For Pakistan cricket, PSL is a revolution. From the players’ point of view, the maximum a player can earn from PSL is Rs2.5 crores ($142, 000) and the minimum they can earn is Rs1.65 million ($9, 300).”
Most importantly, Rasheed said, because PSL had brought in revenue for PCB, there was more money to invest in Pakistan’s first-class cricket structure, stadiums and pitches.
“Unfortunately, Pakistan is not allotted a lot of ODI and Test matches [in a calendar year], ” she said. “Hence, this is an excellent way for us to earn the much-needed revenue and reinvest it into Pakistan cricket.”
“The PSL is a festival in itself where the cricketer derives a lot of benefits, ” Javed Miandad, a former Pakistan captain popularly known as “the greatest batsman Pakistan has ever produced, ” said. “It teaches young cricketers a lot.
PSL had been a godsend for young cricketing talent in Pakistan who, in the absence of a T20 league, could only earn from Pakistan’s domestic cricket structure in case they failed to make it to the national team, Miandad said.