Islamabad United got to keep the cup. However as a whole, the one brand that truly won is Pakistan itself.
I suspect the word “cricketainment” and Twenty 20 leagues share a time and place of birth. Truth be told, there is no better way to describe this rapidly rising format of cricket, which was specifically designed to evolve the gentleman’s game into a massive entertainment platform.
From sleepy county clubs to genre dominating franchise leagues, the T20 journey is powered by a simple mantra; the bigger the show, the bigger the audience. Although the Pakistan Super League was a little late to the party, it put on a spectacular show that left fans salivating and critics stunned. The catalyst to its success, much like its global counterparts, is the colossal amount of money that was injected into the platform. And when there is that much money involved, there is no better way to spend it than under the garb of ‘marketing’. After all, a bare minimum of 93 million dollars were at stake.
From PSL to HBLPSL
Banks have known how to piggyback on Pakistani cricket to showcase their marketing might ever since the good old days of the ABN Amro Cup. However, giants HBL have been perhaps the most consistent supporters and backers of Pakistani players, with cricket-related campaigns commanding a major chunk of their marketing strategy for many years. And thus their urge to be closely associated with the first PSL is understandable.