Pakistan Super League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pakistan Super League

Countries	Pakistan
Administrator	Pakistan Cricket Board
Headquarters	Gaddafi Stadium
Format	Twenty20
First edition	2016
Latest edition	2025
Tournament format	Double round-robin and Playoffs
Number of teams	6
Current champion	Lahore Qalandars (3rd title)
Most successful	Islamabad United Lahore Qalandars (3 titles each)
Most runs	Babar Azam (3,792)
Most wickets	Hasan Ali (125)
TV	Pakistan PTV Sports A Sports Ten Sports International List of broadcasters

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a super exciting professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan. It's like a big cricket party organized by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). For sponsorship reasons, it's also known as HBL PSL.

The PCB started this league in 2015. It features six teams, each representing a different city in Pakistan. These teams are not owned separately. Instead, the whole league is one big group, and investors own and control each team.

In the first part of the tournament, called the group stage, every team plays against every other team twice. The top four teams with the most points then move on to the playoffs. The playoffs lead up to an exciting final match!

There have been ten seasons of the PSL so far. Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars are the most successful teams. They have each won the championship three times.

History of the PSL

How the PSL Started

In September 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board officially announced that the PSL would begin. Famous former Pakistani cricket captains, Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja, became special helpers to promote the league.

After many years of planning, the league finally started on February 4, 2016. The first two seasons had five teams. These teams were based on the main cities of Pakistan's provinces and the capital city. The PSL uses a special "draft system" to pick players. This is different from an "auction" system used in some other cricket leagues.

The official logo for the PSL was shown for the first time on September 20, 2015, in Lahore. Many current and retired cricketers, along with Pakistani celebrities, were there. The rights to the first teams were sold for about US$93 million for 10 years. By 2017, the PSL was worth around US$300 million!

Adding More Teams

In May 2016, people talked about adding a sixth team in 2017, but it didn't happen then. A few days after the 2017 PSL ended, it was announced that a sixth team would join for the next season.

The PCB looked at five cities for the new team. On June 1, 2017, the sixth team was announced as Multan Sultans. This team was bought for US$5.2 million each year. Later, in November 2018, the ownership changed, but the team kept the same name.

How the PSL Makes Money

In May 2016, the PCB shared that the very first PSL season made a profit of US$2.6 million. The 2022 season, which was played entirely in Pakistan, saw a huge increase in profit. The PCB chairman said profits went up by 71 percent!

The 2023 season made over 5 billion Pakistani Rupees. This money came from things like TV rights, main sponsorships, ticket sales, and other related deals.

How the Games are Played

PSL playoffs system

The PSL uses a "double round-robin" format. This means every team plays against every other team twice. The top four teams then move on to the playoffs. The playoffs use a system similar to the Indian Premier League.

The league follows the rules set by the International Cricket Council. The PSL was one of the first T20 leagues to use the DRS (Decision Review System), which the International Cricket Council later started using too.

In the group stage:

• A win gives a team two points.
• If a match has no result (like due to rain), each team gets one point.
• If scores are tied after both teams have batted, a "super over" is played to decide the winner.

Teams are ranked based on:

• Most points.
• If points are equal, the "run rate" (how fast they score runs) is checked.
• If still equal, the team with the most wins is ranked higher.
• If still equal, the team with the fewest losses is ranked higher.
• If still equal, the results of games played between those teams are used.

In playoff matches, if there's no result, a super over decides the winner. If a super over isn't possible or is tied, the team that finished higher in the regular season wins.

When the PSL Happens

The PSL usually takes place in February and March each year. The only time this changed was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PSL usually happens before the Indian Premier League. However, in 2025, the PSL and IPL seasons overlapped.

The Teams of PSL

Before the first season, about 20 groups showed interest in buying a team. On October 18, 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board started taking bids for teams. The winners got the rights to a team for ten years.

All five teams for the first season were sold on December 3, 2015. They sold for a total of US$93 million. In April 2017, the PCB asked for bids for a sixth team. Many groups wanted to buy it. On June 1, the rights for the Multan team were bought for US$5.2 million a year. This was the most expensive team right in the league at that time. In November 2018, the PCB ended the agreement due to payment issues. The rights were then sold again to a new group for US$6.35 million.

PSL Season Winners

The first PSL season was played entirely in the United Arab Emirates because of safety reasons. Islamabad United were the first champions, beating Quetta Gladiators in the final.

Peshawar Zalmi won the 2017 PSL championship. They beat Quetta Gladiators in Lahore on March 5, 2017. Islamabad United won again in 2018, beating Peshawar Zalmi. In 2019, Quetta Gladiators won their first title against Peshawar Zalmi in Karachi.

In 2020, Karachi Kings took home the trophy. Multan Sultans won their first title in 2021, beating Peshawar Zalmi in Abu Dhabi. Lahore Qalandars won their first title on February 27, 2022, against the reigning champions, Multan Sultans. Lahore Qalandars then won their second title in a row in 2023, again beating Multan Sultans by just one run!

Islamabad United became the first team to win three titles on March 18, 2024. They defeated Multan Sultans by 2 wickets. Multan Sultans reached the final for the fourth time in a row but finished as runner-up for the third time in a row. Misbah-ul-Haq is the most successful captain in the league's history.

Final Match Results

Team Performance Over the Years

Key

• W: Winner (Champion);
• RU: Runner-up (Lost in the Final);
• PO: Eliminated in the play-off stage (Made it to playoffs but not the final)
• Grp: Eliminated in the group stage (Did not make it to playoffs)

Champions of the PSL

Teams are ranked by how many times they won. If there's a tie, the team with more runner-up finishes is ranked higher, then by alphabetical order.

The PSL Trophy

On February 19, 2020, the first version of the PSL trophy was shown. It was unveiled by famous squash player Jahangir Khan. This trophy was 65 centimeters tall and weighed eight kilograms. It had a crescent and star design with colorful enamel strips. This trophy was used from the 2020 PSL until the 2022 PSL. Each year, the winning team's name was carved onto it.

A new trophy, called "Supernova," was revealed on February 9, 2023. This trophy has been used since the 2023 PSL season. It was made entirely in Pakistan by Mahfooz Jewellers in Lahore.

The newest trophy, named "Luminara," was unveiled on March 14, 2025. It was shown in a three-minute video by the PSL channel.

Special Player Awards

The PSL gives out special awards to top players each season:

• The Hanif Mohammad award and a green cap go to the player who scores the most runs. The player leading in runs wears this cap during the tournament until the final game. The winner gets to keep the cap and the award.
• The Fazal Mahmood award and a maroon cap are given to the player who takes the most wickets, following the same rules.
• The Imtiaz Ahmed award is for the best wicket-keeper.

All three of these awards started in the second PSL season.

Sponsors of the PSL

The first main sponsor for the PSL was HBL Pakistan. They signed a deal for three years in December 2015. All the sponsorship deals for the league, including the main one, were worth more than $6 million. HBL later renewed their sponsorship for another three years. In 2021, HBL signed on to be the main sponsor for four more years, until 2025.

Where to Watch the PSL

The league signed a deal with a UK company called Sunset and Vine to produce the broadcast for the first three seasons. In Pakistan, TV rights were sold to PTV Sports and Ten Sports. Digital rights for the first season were sold to YouTube in Pakistan. Later, cricketgateway got the digital rights.

From 2019 to 2021, broadcast rights were sold to Blitz Advertising. PTV Sports and Geo Network got the domestic TV rights, and cricketgateway kept the digital rights.

From 2021 to 2025, TransGroup International got the broadcast rights. PTV Sports, A Sports, and Ten Sports had the domestic TV rights until 2023. A Sports and Walee Technologies got these rights for the 2024–2025 seasons, along with the digital streaming rights. Daraz had the digital streaming rights for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

List of Global Broadcasters

Other PSL Activities

Hamaray Heroes Campaign

HBL PSL Hamaray Heroes Award

The HBL PSL Hamaray Heroes campaign started in the 2020 season. This program celebrates important Pakistanis who have done great things. For example, it honored squash player Farhan Mehboob, animal rescuer Ayesha Chundrigar, mountaineer Ali Sadpara, and professional eSports player Arslan Ash. A total of 32 HBL PSL Hamaray Heroes Awards were given out during the 2020 season.

Raising Awareness for Health

Since 2019, the PSL has dedicated a day to raise awareness for breast cancer awareness. On this day, the theme is usually pink. The league also sets aside a day to raise awareness for childhood cancer, using a gold ribbon theme.

See also

• List of Pakistan Super League records and statistics
• List of Pakistan Super League centuries
• List of Pakistan Super League anthems
• Pakistan Junior League
• List of Twenty20 cricket competitions