PCB launches PSL cricket development award

Franchises to be assessed on players’ pathway, infrastructure, grassroots work and welfare

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday launched a $200,000 award to recognize the franchise that makes the biggest contribution to cricket development, with teams to be assessed on players’ pathways, infrastructure, grassroots programmes and player welfare.

“The PCB has today unveiled the procedure to award one franchise the prestigious and inaugural HBL PSL Cricket Development Excellence Award worth USD 200,000. The 2026 award will consider the development work done by franchises since the HBL PSL 3 season till the HBL PSL 11, i.e. from the period during which a minimum of six franchises participated in the league,” the PCB said in a press statement. 

“After the 11th edition of the tournament, only the development work done between two latest editions will be considered and evaluated for this award.” 

It said that the franchises will self-assess and mark themselves using a scoring model devised by the HBL PSL in the first phase and submit it to an assessment committee formulated by the PCB. 

“The five-member committee includes independent experts as well as internal stakeholders, who will be tasked with the responsibility to verify and confirm each score against the evidence supplied, using verifiable data points. 80 percent of the final score will be assessed through this mechanism. Thereafter, competing franchises will be asked to publish a presentation depicting cricket development work carried by them on official PSL social media handles.”
Fans will be entitled to vote and rank the franchises development performance, and their votes will carry 20 percent weightage in the final scores. 

The scoring model and the weightage of the scores will feature: player pathway and development (25 percent), player impact and match contribution (10 percent), high-performance infrastructure and innovations (15 percent), grassroots and domestic engagement (20 percent), player welfare and education (10 percent), fan voting via social media (20 percent).

Scoring guidelines will be provided to fans at the time of voting. 

“The player pathway and development key performance indicator (KPI) will deal with new or uncapped talent identified by franchises, their development, their progression and cricket exposure provided to them beyond HBL PSL.”

The PCB said that the player impact and match contribution KPI will evaluate a scouted and new found player’s impact trajectory, match deciding impact and role expansion with a respective franchise. 

“The high-performance infrastructure and innovations KPI combines institutional capacity, facilities, staffing and systems, with technology-led innovation. The player welfare and education KPI deals with the financial literacy and education support provided by franchises to players along with things like mental health support systems, media training, anti-doping and anti-corruption education and career transition plans.”

“Grassroots and Domestic Engagement KPI will evaluate the work done by franchises in men’s and women’s cricket development, arrangement of coaching clinics for kids, School and club cricket initiatives and participation in PCB-organized cricket,” it said.