KARACHI: The long-awaited second edition of Pakistan’s most prestigious Twenty20 tournament, Pakistan Super League, is finally here.
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The competition will commence on Thursday with the opening encounter between defending champions Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.
The opening match between the two exciting teams will launch the three-week-long action packed cricketing extravaganza which will bring showers of sixes and fours, the aggression of fast bowlers, and magic of spinners to cricket fans around the world.
Five competing teams – Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings – have a blend of international and local stars along with a group of youngsters, providing fans with an action packed cricket bouquet.
Lahore Qalandars, who finished last in the table last year, have got Brendon McCullum, Jason Roy and Sunil Narine in their overseas lot, while the defending champions Islamabad United have Shane Watson, Steven Finn, Misbah-ul-Haq and more.
Legends like Chris Gayle and Kumar Sangakkara will be playing for Karachi Kings, while the Peshawar Zalmi will have services of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shahid Afridi and Darren Sammy.
Led by Pakistan’s T20I captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Quetta Gladiators’ star attraction will be England’s former skipper Kevin Pietersen.
Before the opening match, there will be a colourful opening ceremony to formally kick-off the tournament which carries a prize purse of over one million dollars. Jamaican singer Shaggy will be the star attraction of the opening ceremony, along with Pakistan’s own super star Ali Zafar, Shahzad Roy and other performers.
“Jamaican reggae star Shaggy, Ali Zafar and Shehzad Roy are slated to perform at the gala opening ceremony hosted by Fahad Mustafa at the Dubai International Stadium to be followed by the opening match between the Darren Sammy-led Peshawar Zalmi and defending champions Islamabad United,†said PCB in an announcement.
The management of Pakistan Super League has also increased the number of matches in the PSL from 16 to 24 in the second season.
Each of the five sides will be involved in a double-leg round-robin league thereby playing eight games each. The top four teams will then qualify for the playoffs wherein the first-ranked team at the end of the league stage will take on the second-placed side in the first playoff.
The second playoff will see the third and the fourth-ranked side take on each other before the losing team from the first playoff faces the winning team from the second playoff. The PSL final between the winner of the first playoff and the third playoff will be held in Lahore on March 5 after the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that it will be played in Pakistan.
The PSL final between the winner of the first playoff and the third playoff will be held in Lahore on March 5 after the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that it will be played in Pakistan.The Pakistan Cricket Board has also increased the prize money for the second edition of Pakistan Super League, offering a purse of over one million.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has also increased the prize money for the second edition of Pakistan Super League, offering a purse of over one million.The winning team would get the prize money of $700,000, which is $200,000 more than the previous edition of the league which was won by Islamabad United. Runner-up team will get prize money of $350,000 after an increment of $150,000 of losing finalist prize from the previous edition.
The winning team would get the prize money of $700,000, which is $200,000 more than the previous edition of the league which was won by Islamabad United. Runner-up team will get prize money of $350,000 after an increment of $150,000 of losing finalist prize from the previous edition.The Pakistan Cricket Board has also introduced Imtiaz Ahmed Trophy, Hanif Mohammad Trophy and Fazal Mahmood Trophy for the best wicket-keeper, batsman and the bowler in the tournament respectively.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has also introduced Imtiaz Ahmed Trophy, Hanif Mohammad Trophy and Fazal Mahmood Trophy for the best wicket-keeper, batsman and the bowler in the tournament respectively.
