The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is on the verge of being left out of the inaugural World Clubs T20 Championship, a highly anticipated global tournament set to launch next year with backing from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its chairman Jay Shah. The exclusion has sparked widespread criticism, with many blaming the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for a major oversight.

According to inside sources, the PSL champions likely contenders such as Lahore Qalandars or Multan Sultans will not be invited to participate in the event after PCB failed to attend a key planning meeting held on the sidelines of the Cricket Connect Summit in London. The meeting was hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and included CEOs of major T20 leagues like the BBL, SA20, CPL, The Hundred, ILT20, and MLC.

“The PCB was invited to send the CEO of PSL to the meeting, but no one showed up,” a source revealed. This absence reportedly hurt Pakistan’s position in discussions surrounding the event's format, schedule, and long-term vision. The inaugural edition is expected to feature five teams excluding IPL franchises for now, despite the BCCI’s backing, and mirror the model of the defunct Champions League T20.

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PSL Faces Global Exclusion Amid Saudi League Pressure

While Saudi Arabia’s proposed $400 million cricket league looms large in the background, the World Clubs Championship appears to be a counter-move, fast-tracked to establish a unified global franchise competition before Saudi plans materialize.

In the meantime, Pakistan is experiencing internal strife. Ali Tareen, the owner of the Multan Sultans, has publicly criticized the PCB for making "misleading" statements regarding PSL 10, pointing to problems with viewership, attendance, and poor management.

With the global T20 schedule changing quickly and Pakistan's cricket ecosystem coming under more scrutiny, this latest omission could be a serious blow to the PSL's reputation abroad.