‘Will try to add two more teams in next PSL,’ says Najam Sethi

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi expressed his strive to expand the Pakistan Super League (PSL) by adding two more teams in the next edition.

Sethi held a press conference here at Gaddafi Stadium to reflect on the ongoing PSL 8 which will conclude with a blockbuster final between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans and hinted at the cricket board’s plans for the next edition.

“If you ask me what are our plans for the next PSL, keeping it brief my strive is to add two more teams. But obviously, this decision is subject to the approval of the franchises and is impossible without doing the homework,” said Sethi.

“That is because if any franchise suffers a loss by the addition of two more franchises then it is not a good thing to do. It must be a win-win situation for everyone. So I’m doing homework on this.

“We had a brief discussion with the franchises and after the conclusion of this PSL, we will formally start consulting them the next month about the addition of teams and the model after the completion of 10 years.”

The PCB chief further commented on the future of the upcoming Pakistan Women’s League and shared the officials are considering three options for the inaugural event.

“There are multiple opinions regarding the Women’s League, one is that it should be held in September and should be stand-alone. The second is that it should be organized simultaneously with the next PSL to reduce the cost and the third issue is that to whom the franchises should be sold,” shared Sethi.

“Whether the first option should be the existing male franchise owners or it should be completely stand-alone and different. But I must tell you if we are planning to feature four to five teams then we already have enough interest that you assume all five franchises have been sold out,” Sethi added.

“Such is the interest in the Women’s league, especially from the abroad, from overseas Pakistanis. So, our problem is not to sell the team but to develop our players,” he concluded.

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