Race against time to secure foreign players for PSL X remaining matches

LAHORE – Franchises are in a race against time to ensure the availability of foreign players for the remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) X.

The PSL franchises are making continuous efforts to secure the participation of overseas players, but with only two days left before the tournament resumes, not all squads are fully complete.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reached out to various cricket boards—including those of Australia, New Zealand, and England—for No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for players. The PCB has assured them that a ceasefire is now in place and that there is no longer any security threat.

A replacement draft was scheduled to be held yesterday, but due to scheduling conflicts, not all franchise representatives could be present at the same time. As a result, PCB officials contacted each team individually in draft order to collect the names of their required players.

Keeping availability in mind, selections were made mostly from the previous list of players. Some teams also contacted players directly—talks that had been initiated even before the league was suspended. As of Wednesday evening, teams have started arriving in Rawalpindi.

Training for the teams is set to begin today, while most foreign players are expected to arrive by Friday.

On the financial front, the temporary suspension of PSL has placed a significant burden on franchise budgets. Additional expenses were incurred due to hotel stays in Dubai and the cost of flying foreign players back to their home countries.

Now, with the last-minute call-ups, business class tickets to Pakistan are proving extremely expensive. Discussions with the PCB are ongoing to share some of the costs.

The board has verbally agreed to cover the cost of one-way airfare for players.

The absence of a dedicated PSL staff also led to operational difficulties. The officials responsible for communicating with players are working part-time, and the league’s CEO, Salman Naseer took on most of the workload himself.

Due to time constraints, he was unable to hire support staff. Even in his first PSL season as CEO, he is facing substantial challenges.

Meanwhile, all matters regarding the upcoming series against Bangladesh have been finalized. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was waiting for clearance from its government.

However, due to the currently positive relations between the two countries, no major obstacles are expected.