Pakistan Super League
professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, contested between six franchises comprising cricketers from Pakistan and around the world
%5B%5BWikipedia%3ATemplates+for+discussion%2FLog%2F2025+December+5%23Template%3ASeason+sidebar%5D%5D{{{CRITERION}}}
The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The league was founded by the PCB in 2015, and as of 2026 features eight city-based franchise teams. Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, the league operates as a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by investors.
Each team plays group-stage matches in a double round-robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the playoffs, culminating in the final.
The 2026 Pakistan Super League was the eleventh season of the league. Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars are the most successful teams, with three titles each, followed by Peshawar Zalmi with two titles.
History
Establishment
In September 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board officially announced the launch of the PSL. Former Pakistani national team captains Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja signed up to promote the PSL and become brand ambassadors of the league for three years. After several years of planning and two previous failed attempts, the league officially began on 4 February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE sports minister, Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, inaugurated the opening ceremony. The first two seasons included five teams based on the capital cities of Pakistan's provinces and the Federal capital.
The public source identifies “Pakistan Super League” as professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, contested between six franchises comprising cricketers from Pakistan and around the world. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pakistan, Super and League.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Pakistan Super League”, the useful work is to connect “professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, contested between six franchises comprising cricketers from Pakistan and around the world” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3267414. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2015, 2026 and 2016.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pakistan Super League”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pakistan Super League primary sources, Pakistan Super League archive and Pakistan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pakistan Super League”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pakistan Super League” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.