The Pakistan Super League (PSL) began on February 17. Several high-profile international cricketers have pulled out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to the overlapping of dates with other franchise-based tournaments and many cricket boards denying permission to their players to compete in domestic T20 competitions. All the six franchises have been hit hard with several players opting for the Bangladesh Premier League, ILT20 and SA20 leagues.
PSL side Multan Sultans have lost several players they had initially signed up for the upcoming season, with England pace bowler Reece Topley being the latest to pull out due to an injury.
In the absence of international stars, a lot of the attention in on the Pakistan stars. Former Pakistan cricket team captain Shoaib Malik is playing for Karachi Kings in the PSL and recently in a match against Multan Sultans, he top-scored for his team with a 35-ball 53. Despite his half-century, Karachi Kings lost the match by 55 runs. In attendance in the match was Shoaib Malik's wife Sana Javed. The two recently got married. Their marriage news was widely shared on social media as Shoaib Malik had split with Indian tennis Icon Sania Mirza.
Talking about the tournament, a PSL franchise owner has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to revisit the tournament window, as it is not possible to get big players when three leagues are happening on after the other.
"The SA20 ended recently and the ILT20 concludes on the day the PSL begins, so it is getting difficult to sign big players now," he said on condition of anonymity.
He also pointed out that January-February is a busy season for international cricket series. Sri Lanka are playing a series against Afghanistan, South Africa are in the middle of a two-Test series against New Zealand while West Indies are playing a series against Australia.
"There is an acute need to change the PSL window, else it will lose its charm if we don't get big overseas names," he added.
With PTI inputs
