Najam Sethi plans to make PSL 8 ‘bigger and better’.

The National Stadium was beginning to fill up with fans as the excitement for the first match of the eighth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League at the venue grew. Some carried Pakistan flags, while others displayed their support for the teams they were rooting for. On the field, players from the Karachi Kings and the Peshawar Zalmi warmed up for the match. Others did light exercises while others played football.

Plans for the future of the glitzy T20 extravaganza were being discussed in the closed press conference room, as anticipation grew in the stands. An impromptu news conference was called an hour before the game, with Pakistan Cricket Board interim management committee chairman Najam Sethi arriving alongside the PSL’s digital broadcast rights holder.

It’s been over a month since the interim management committee was formed for a 120-day period during which elections must be held, signalling the end of Ramiz Raja’s tenure as PCB chairman. Sethi, the de facto chairman at the time, said he wanted to make the country’s marquee tournament “bigger and better” while still enjoying the opening ceremony in Multan on Monday.

Sethi served as the league’s chairman during its inaugural season in 2016, before taking over as PCB chairman the following year. The PSL has since grown to become one of the world’s top leagues, second only to the Indian Premier League. Sethi outlined his goals now that he is back in charge.

There was no hiding about the fact that the PSL is PCB’s money-spinning venture. While the representative of the digital broadcast rights holder noted the fact that the league’s viewership went to far flung areas of the country, Sethi joked that the money being made by the rights holder would mean more capital for the PCB.

Once this season of the PSL reaches completion, it will be the first time that the league will be held across four centres of the country. “Organising it in four venues is a challenge, especially with Multan as the teams are staying in Lahore,” said Sethi. “With matches for the first stage being held in Multan and Karachi and then shifting to Lahore and Rawalpindi, we needed two production teams, which is a huge operation.”

Last Sunday, Quetta’s Bugti Stadium hosted an exhibition match between Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators, both teams comprised entirely of local players. Sethi was pleased with how Bugti Stadium was “transformed” for the game, but he couldn’t say the same for Peshawar’s Arbab Niaz Stadium.

“It’s in the same condition as it was four years ago when I was the last PCB chairman,” Sethi said. “However, I believe that if we can take the PSL there, Peshawar will be a true winner.”