PSL franchises reject direct player contracts

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises have officially rejected the proposal to allow direct contracts with star players, citing an unimpressive list of available cricketers as the main reason for their decision. The PSL draft is now scheduled to take place in the last week of December or early January.

The PSL 2025 season faces scheduling conflicts due to a triangular series planned outside of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) and the upcoming Champions Trophy. As a result, the tournament will not occur during its traditional time frame.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has provided a window from April 10 to May 25 for the league, and final dates will be finalized within this period.Concerns regarding clashes with the Indian Premier League (IPL) could result in the unavailability of key players and decreased revenue for the franchises. To address this, the PCB was initially considering allowing franchises to sign 1 to 2 marquee players directly. However, the franchise owners rejected this proposal during a recent online meeting, expressing their dissatisfaction with the available player list.

The PCB had sent the franchises a list of players who did not participate in the last IPL and were potentially available, but it failed to impress the owners. As a result, the board has moved forward with the draft plan. The BCCI is expected to hold an IPL auction next month in Saudi Arabia, which may clarify the situation further.

During the meeting, the strict policy of the English Cricket Board (ECB) regarding No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and its implications for the PSL were also discussed. PCB's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salman Naseer indicated that the board would refrain from commenting on media reports, noting that discussions with the ECB chairman could occur during his upcoming visit to Pakistan for the Test matches.

The discussion also briefly covered the initial process of expanding the number of teams in the league. Concerning the establishment of a separate company, it was stated that only the PCB chairman would be able to provide updates on this matter in the future.