The Pakistan Super League may move to January 2027 to avoid a clash with the IPL

Next year’s Pakistan Super League could be held in January after media rights holders for the T20 event complained of limited advertising revenue during the April-May period when India hosts the IPL.

This year PSL again clashed with Indian Premier League (IPL) and the proposal to hold the event early next year came at the PSL Governing Council meeting in London on 1 September.

According to a reliable source, media rights holder Walee Technologies, which also owns a franchise in the eighth PSL, has put forward a proposal to have the PSL in January-February.

Since its inception in 2016, the PSL was held in February-March, but due to ICC events in that window in 2025 and this year, the PCB was forced to move the league to April-May, where it clashed with the IPL.

Franchise owners have also expressed concern over the waning interest in the PSL amid Pakistan’s poor performances across formats.

A source familiar with the development said the media rights holders made it clear that the April-May period was not good for sponsoring security advertising for various reasons.

Under PSL’s existing franchise agreement, these eight teams receive 95 percent of broadcast revenue from the central revenue pool.

The source said that a proposal was also made in the meeting that the PSL starts in Karachi, where the winter conditions are relatively mild at the beginning every year, before moving to Punjab and Peshawar as the tournament progresses and the weather conditions diminish.

Pakistan currently have a clear international window from mid-November to March, with no home or away series scheduled during this period.

Walee Technologies holds the domestic broadcast and digital rights of the PSL until 2029 and also holds the international media rights for the 2026 edition.

The company also owns Rawalpindiz, one of two new franchises introduced when the league expanded from six to eight teams this year.

The board of governors, comprising representatives from the PCB and owners of all eight franchises, also discussed the possibility of entering the esports market, which is growing rapidly in Pakistan.

Entering esports could potentially help the league attract a younger and more diverse audience while creating additional commercial opportunities.

The board also discussed the possibility of holding the semi-annual tournament under the existing rights agreement between the franchises and the broadcaster.

The proposal is believed to have been brought to the PCB as a potential additional revenue stream for both the franchises and the broadcasters, while helping to maintain PSL’s visibility throughout the year.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

06 Sep 2026 20:22 IST