Three out of the five franchises of Pakistan Super League (PSL) have taken a step forward for the development of cricket in the country by agreeing to sponsor regional teams.
Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Executive Committee chairman Najam Sethi, said they proposed the five franchise owners to buy the regional teams and sponsor them, with three of them agreeing.
Lahore Qalandars have forwarded their consent to sponsor Lahore region, Islamabad United is ready to sponsor Islamabad region and Quetta Gladiators will sponsor the Quetta region.
Meanwhile, Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi are still in talks with the board and are expected to say yes to the idea of sponsoring their respective regions.
“If PCB is giving every region Rs20-25 million, now, with the franchises in the picture, the regions will receive a total of 50 million rupees. The move will greatly benefit the regions and the cricketers,” said Sethi.
“Expending Rs20-25 million for franchises is not that difficult,” he added. “Franchises know well that they can expand their PSL fan base by supporting regional teams.”
Sethi also explained how, by attracting private sector’s interest, cricket in the regions can improve.
“Our real motive is to bring the private sector into cricket, which together with the selected people of regional cricket, can run the show themselves,” said Sethi. “Surely, this will have a positive effect on the performance of regions.”