Pakistan cricket chief courts investors at UK roadshow as T20 league eyes expansion

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi addresses a presser at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on January 31, 2025. (AFP/ file)
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Updated 08 December 2025
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Pakistan cricket chief courts investors at UK roadshow as T20 league eyes expansion

  • Mohsin Naqvi says the board is investing in infrastructure and high-performance training centers for players
  • PSL features six teams and is expected to expand to eight, with its next edition scheduled for April and May

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday the board was investing in cricket infrastructure and high-performance training centers as he aimed to attract investors from the United Kingdom to buy Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams.

The remarks came during a PSL roadshow at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, which brought together investors, franchise representatives and league officials to showcase the league’s commitment to global expansion, strategic partnerships and world-class entertainment.

PSL is Pakistan’s premier T20 cricket league, featuring six city-based teams competing for the title each year. The tournament’s 11th edition is expected to take place in April and May next year.

PCB has announced plans to expand the league by adding two new franchises this year, increasing the total number of teams to eight. The board said in a statement earlier this year it had already received “significant interest” from potential ownership groups in the UK for the two new teams.

“So, I will tell one thing to the investors, that we are not spending only money on the infrastructure, but also on the high-performance centers,” Naqvi said while speaking to the participants.

He highlighted that the PCB had recently renovated the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore while the renovation of the National Stadium in Karachi was halfway done.

“We are building a new stadium in Islamabad ... [which will be] one of the best stadiums in Pakistan,” he added. “We are targeting Abbottabad. We are taking over Muzaffarabad stadium [in Azad Kashmir] also.”

The PSL roadshow aims to offer investors and cricket lovers an immersive introduction to the league, its commercial ecosystem and the strategic vision driving its next phase of growth.

Within a span of 10 years, PSL has competed for viewership with some of the most prominent cricket leagues around the world, including the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash League, the Hundred, and the Caribbean Premier League, among others.


Pakistan lauds female polio workers as push to end virus intensifies

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Pakistan lauds female polio workers as push to end virus intensifies

  • Acknowledgement comes as Pakistan marks annual campaign promoting women’s rights and safety
  • Ayesha Raza Farooq says the real strength of the polio program is its female workers and their bravery

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top polio official on Tuesday praised the country’s female vaccination workers for their “extraordinary contribution” to the eradication drive, saying their efforts were central to ending the virus as Pakistan marked the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual campaign to promote women’s rights and safety.

Female health workers administer the majority of polio drops in Pakistan, going door to door in remote, high-risk and conservative communities where women are best positioned to gain access to children.

Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world, alongside neighboring Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus remains endemic. The country has so far reported 30 cases this year.

“What you do is extraordinary, and your courage in all circumstances is the reason Pakistan will soon be polio-free,” said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, during a meeting with frontline workers in Islamabad.

“Pakistan’s real strength in this program is its female polio workers,” she added.

Farooq said she had listened to the concerns of field teams and assured them of full government support.

She maintained that female vaccinators had shown “remarkable bravery” despite difficult terrain, security concerns and community resistance in some areas.

In October, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) named Farooq Pakistan’s first gender champion for her leadership in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in public health and in the eradication effort.

Pakistan is scheduled to kick off the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive of 2025, according to the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC), with an aim to inoculate 45 million children.

The NEOC has also urged parents to coordinate with health workers during the campaign.