PCB chairman Ramiz Raja lauds "record profit-making" PSL

Raja also expressed his desire to take the competition across Pakistan next year and to expand the number of franchises in the next couple of years

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja has lauded the 2022 edition of the PSL as a huge financial success.

Joining David Gower in the commentary booth during the first innings of the PSL final, Raja revealed the tournament had seen "record profit-making" for the franchises, which he attributed in part to Pakistan’s strong performance in the T20 World Cup.

In Dubai last autumn, Pakistan memorably defeated India by 10 wickets in their tournament opener before reaching the semi-finals.

"It has been a record profit-making for the franchises this year," Raja revealed. "71 per cent before the first ball was bowled, so that was huge. It stems from the fact that we did reasonably well in the World Cup – beating India has energised the entire country and the fans are hopeful once again.

^{Raja has credited Pakistain's performances in the 2021 T20 World Cup with the success of PSL7 [Francois Nel/Getty Images]}

"That meant a lot for the franchise owners. They’ve got dough in their pocket without a ball being bowled, so they’re sitting very, very happy."

Raja also expressed his desire to see next year’s tournament played across more cities in Pakistan.

Only 11 matches have ever been played outside of Karachi, Lahore and the UAE - Multan and Rawalpindi hosting matches in PSL5 - meaning Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United have never played in front of a home crowd in seven seasons.

"The idea is to get this rolling all over Pakistan," Raja said. "You’ve seen the buzz, the electric environment in Lahore. Why not sample this in Multan, sample this in Peshawar next year?"

As for following the example of the Indian Premier League and expanding the number of franchises in the PSL, Raja revealed growing the competition is on his radar: "For the first 10 years, it is going to be the lot that you’ve got. After 10 years, we can add one or two."