The organisers of the Pakistan Super League must have been aware of the challenges facing the league as it geared up for a direct clash with the well-established Indian Premier League in the April-May window. However, not many would have expected the 10th edition of PSL to encounter as many issues.
After Pakistan got the long-awaited opportunity to host the Champions Trophy earlier in the year, they had to decide when to stage their hugely popular franchise league - in another time on the calendar outside the January-February window. They took the most difficult of all available options – smack in the middle of the IPL – and took on a tournament for which international cricket is put on hold for.
Maybe Pakistan had no other option, or maybe they thought that the idea was so wild, it just might work as they would be competing with just one big tournament, rather that a bunch of other leagues and international matches in January-February.
The result has been mixed. The opening weekend of the PSL saw record numbers, with the league witnessing a 800 per cent rise in live streaming viewership.
But as the tournament has wore on, reality has kicked in.
Poor crowd turnout
One of the sad realities of this year’s PSL is the poor crowd turnout at a number of their matches, especially in Karachi and Lahore.
Karachi has been notorious for poor attendance even for major international fixtures and that habit has seeped into PSL as well. The refurbished Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore has also witnessed low attendance figures, surprisingly, with few games played in front of packed stands.
The reasons for it are many. The first one is the most obvious: staging a month-long tournament at this time of the year in the subcontinent is extremely risky as the weather is unforgiving. It is peak summer time with heatwaves sweeping across the region, which make even evening games challenging.
The PSL had to reschedule a few games due to the oppressive heat and that has also kept crowds away.
Secondly, the evening games begin at 8pm local time – a scheduling decision made to avoid the time slot of the IPL so that enough viewers can tune in after IPL games and still get to see the closing stages of a PSL match.
However, that means many locals can’t travel to the venues during the week as that would mean returning home well into the night after a midnight finish. Compare that to 2023 when matches had 6pm and 7pm start times.
Apart from the obvious problems, there could also be a fatigue factor following the national team’s extended poor run at international level. The stars of the Pakistan team have seen their popularity diminish greatly and their fan base, possibly, is not willing to go through the many hardships to watch them in person.
Challenges ahead
Poor crowd turnout is not the only challenge facing the league. Last week, broadcasters Sony and live streaming platform Fancode suspended the telecast of the PSL in India following a breakdown in relations between the countries.
Indian audiences make up a substantial portion of viewing numbers of any cricket match, and this loss of numbers is likely to have a ripple effect on the league.
While the Pakistan Cricket Board might be able to sort out scheduling and crowd issues moving forward, the loss of Indian audience might prove to be the biggest hurdle as viewing numbers form the base of contract negotiations for future broadcast deals that are the foundation of every franchise league.
There are talks of expanding the PSL from its current pool of six teams, but there is already discontent among at least one side. Multan Sultans team owner Ali Tareen lambasted the league for not innovating enough, failing to finalise long-term deals with franchises and hindering the influx of foreign investment.
There are other big challengers in the game, with tournaments like the SA T20, International League T20 in the UAE and the UK’s Hundred offering excellent remuneration to players and viewing experience for fans. Also, substantial investments are being made in other T20 products worldwide, which could further eat into the cricket pie.
The Pakistan board and PSL have their work cut out this year and in future. Harsh lessons must be learnt from the underwhelming response from the home crowd during the PSL, and even during the Champions Trophy earlier in the year. Pakistan can’t afford to let the game just slip away.
