Everything you need to know about the PSL

he PCB had their heads set on UAE as a venue since the country had been hosting Pakistan's international matches since 2009 © AFP

What is the Pakistan Super League?

The PSL is a franchise based Twenty20 competition organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board, and approved by the International Cricket Council. It is meant to be a three-week tournament scheduled for February 2016, and will feature five teams, from Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad. A total of 24 matches are scheduled to be held between February 4 and 23. Each team will play a double round-robin format before playing an eliminator during the knockout stages.

Whose idea was it?

The idea of Pakistan's own T20 league emerged during the regime of Dr Nasim Ashraf, who served as the chairman of the PCB between 2007 and 2008. The league was mainly inspired from the now defunct ICL, and the successful IPL. However, the idea never materialised and till it found its feet, the PCB set-up suffered an impasse as the then chief patron Pervez Musharraf resigned in August 2008, with Ashraf also resigning on the same day to leave the country.

It was reported then that during Ashraf's term, the PCB reserves had fallen from $42 million to $19 million. As a result, the next chairman, Ejaz Butt, pulled out every hefty project from the system and shelved it, including the T20 league. But a year later, the following chairman, Zaka Ashraf, revived the project by announcing a lucrative business model in which top player could earn up to $1 million in two weeks.

Ashraf's brainchild was to hold the league within the country, but since the tournament's schedule clashed with the 2013 general elections, the government refused to take responsibility, which led to the league being postponed again. There was the option to take the league to the UAE, but Ashraf was determined to launch it in Pakistan as a tool to revive international cricket in the country.

The project then took off under Najam Sethi, then an executive board member with the PCB, after Ashraf was removed by the ruling government led by Nawaz Sharif. It took nearly five months for the present set-up to once again blow life into the project. With Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, taking a backseat, the project was left exclusively to Sethi, who was entitled to use the PCB budget. Still, the project appeared dicey for five months until the PSL found a new shape when five teams were sold for $93 million.

What was the confusion about Qatar and UAE hosting the PSL?

Finding a country to host the PSL remained a pain for the PCB as until this August, Pakistan was without a venue. The entire project nearly crumbled after the UAE was taken by another party, who planned on hosting the Master Champions League in the same dates as the PSL.

The PCB then explored Qatar as an alternative venue, but once again, it was not straightforward business. Qatar has just one stadium, which is not up to international standards, and lacks basic facilities for players. The PCB, though, reluctantly entered into a deal with the Qatar Olympics Association to host the league in the country. However, with their hearts still set on UAE as the venue, the PCB later locked horns with the Emirates Cricket Board to work out a deal for the UAE to accommodate both the MCL and the PSL.

In September, the PCB pulled out from Qatar, ditching them to sign a new deal with the ECB, who offered a solution to manage both leagues simultaneously in three venues in the country.The PCB's preference for UAE was because the country had anyway been hosting Pakistan's international matches for many years.