The ICC released the Men's FTP until 2027 on Wednesday. While IPL has an unofficial window in the FTP, the 2025 edition of it will be attractive, as it looks to clash with PSL, with Pakistan's packed home calendar.
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to clash with the mighty Indian Premier League (IPL) in the summer of 2025 due to Pakistan's crunch home season, which would also be hosting the ICC Champions Trophy. The IPL has a two and half month window, which starts in March and concludes at the beginning of June. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been forced to push back the 10th season of its premier Twenty20 (T20) event from its regular January-February slot to between March and May, as the nation will gear up to host the CT in February 2025.
It will be the first time a T20 League will go head-to-head with the lucrative IPL. It will be absorbing to see which competition the players, plying their trade in both leagues, prefer. The 2025 CT will be the first ICC event in Pakistan in virtually 30 years. Due to security-related matters, Pakistan had missed out on hosting top teams in the last three Future Tours and Programmes Cycles (FTP).
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However, that has changed in the recent cycle, which would also see Pakistan playing 13 Tests, 26 ODIs and 27 T20Is at home, besides the CT. Thus, it would lead to a packed calendar. "While finalising our Future Tours Programme 2023-2027 in a tight and densely-packed cricket calendar, we have prioritised context, quality and player workload," Faisal Hasnain (PCB CEO) explained in a statement.
(With inputs from PTI)