ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday launched a $200,000 award for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise judged to have contributed the most to cricket development, introducing a financial incentive for teams to invest in players, grassroots programs and high-performance infrastructure.

The inaugural HBL PSL Cricket Development Excellence Award will assess work carried out by franchises from the third edition of the tournament through PSL 11, with future awards evaluating development undertaken between the two most recent seasons, the PCB said.

The PSL is Pakistan’s premier franchise Twenty20 competition and one of the PCB’s flagship properties, bringing together leading Pakistani and international players. The league expanded from six to eight teams for its 11th edition this year, which ran from March 26 to May 3.

PSL 12 is scheduled for 2027, though the PCB has yet to announce its playing window.

“The award has been designed with the objective of rewarding genuine long-term investment in Pakistan cricket, development of structured pathways and creating measurable and audit-able annual standards of professional growth of cricketers,” the PCB said in a statement.

Under the system, franchises will first assess their own development work using a PSL scoring model and submit their scores and supporting evidence to a five-member PCB-appointed committee comprising independent experts and internal stakeholders.

The committee will verify the scores against the evidence submitted, with the self-assessment and verification process accounting for 80 percent of the final score. Fan voting on franchise presentations published on official PSL social media accounts will account for the remaining 20 percent.

The criteria include player pathways and development, player impact, high-performance infrastructure and innovation, grassroots and domestic engagement and player welfare and education.

The PCB said the award would cover initiatives including identifying and developing uncapped players, coaching clinics and school and club cricket, women’s cricket development, financial literacy, education and mental health support for players.

Further details on the assessment committee and voting schedule will be announced later, the board said.