The fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is all set to get underway in the UAE on February 14 in what promises to be a blockbuster five weeks of T20 action.
As was the case in the third edition, six franchises will fight it out for the title of Pakistan’s best T20 outfit with Islamabad United looking to defend their title.
As many as eight games of the fourth edition will be held in Pakistan including the final with the UAE leg of the tournament coming to an end on March 5.
The six teams will first battle it out in a double-round robin league stage where each franchise will play the others twice. The top-four teams will then move into the playoffs to be held in Pakistan.
The top-two teams from the league stage will meet in the Qualifier with the winner advancing straight through to the final to be held in Karachi. Meanwhile, the third and fourth ranked teams will clash in the first Eliminator.
The winner of the first Eliminator will progress to the second Eliminator to take on the loser of the Qualifier. The second Eliminator will determine which team advances to the final to take on the winners of the Qualifier.
The final of the tournament will be held at the National Stadium in Karachi on March 17.
TEAM PROFILES
ISLAMABAD UNITED
Skipper – Mohammad Sami
Best finish – Champions (2016, 2018)
Coach – Dean Jones
Squad
Luke Ronchi, Sahibzada Farhan, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Zafar Gohar, Waqas Maqsood, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Sami (C), Ian Bell, Philip Salt, Cameron Delport, Samit Patel, Muhammad Musa, Wayne Parnell, Zahir Khan, Amad Butt, Rizwan Hussain, Nasir Nawaz.
KARACHI KINGS
Skipper – Imad Wasim
Best finish – Third (2017)
Coach – Mickey Arthur
Squad
Imad Wasim (C), Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Ravi Bopara, Usman Khan, Mohammad Amir, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Sikandar Raza, Awais Zia, Usama Mir, Aaron Summers, Sohail Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ali Imran, Abrar Ahmed, Aamir Yamin, Jaahid Ali, Ben Dunk, Liam Livingstone.
LAHORE QALANDARS
Skipper – Mohammad Hafeez
Best finish – Bottom (2016, 2017 and 2018)
Coach – Aqib Javed
Squad
Mohammad Hafeez (C), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, AB de Villiers, Yasir Shah, Sohail Akhtar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rahat Ali, Agha Salman, Hassan Khan, Anton Devcich, Carlos Brathwaite, Corey Anderson, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mohammad Imran, Umair Masood, Brendan Taylor, Gohar Ali, Aizaz Cheema, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Hardus Viljoen.
MULTAN SULTANS
Skipper – Shoaib Malik
Best finish – 2018 (Fifth)
Coach – Johan Botha
Squad
Shoaib Malik (C), Shan Masood, Umar Siddiq, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Shahid Afridi, Joe Denly, Johnson Charles, Qais Ahmed, Shakeel Ansar, Laurie Evans, Numan Ali, Dan Christian, Tome Moores, Ali Shafiq, Muhammad Ilyas, Andre Russell.
PESHAWAR ZALMI
Skipper – Darren Sammy
Best finish – Champions (2017)
Coach – Mohammad Akram
Squad
Darren Sammy (C), Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sameen Gul, Khalid Usman, Umaid Asif, Liam Dawson, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Dawid Malan, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Wayne Madsen, Nabi Gul, Jamal Anwar, Chris Jordan, Ibtisam Sheikh, Samiullah, Waqar Salamkheil.
QUETTA GLADIATORS
Skipper – Sarfraz Ahmed
Best finish – Runners-up (2016 and 2017)
Coach – Moin Khan
Squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (C), Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Shane Watson, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Azam Khan, Saud Shakeel, Sunil Narine, Sohail Tanvir, Dwayne Bravo, Fawad Ahmed, Jalat Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Danish Aziz, Ahsan Ali, Ghulam Mudassar, Naseem Shah, Harry Gurney, Sunil Narine.
TV SCHEDULE
Viewers in the UAE will be able to watch the live telecast of the fourth edition of the PSL on YuppTV. Live streams of the matches will be available at www.cricketgateway.ae
February 14, Thursday
Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars – 21:45 GST, Dubai
February 15, Friday
Karachi Kings v Multan Sultans – 15:30 GST, Dubai
Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators – 20:00 GST, Dubai
February 16, Saturday
Islamabad United v Multan Sultans – 15:30 GST, Dubai
Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings – 20:00 GST, Dubai
February 17, Sunday
Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators – 15:30 GST, Dubai
Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars – 20:00 GST, Dubai
February 20, Wednesday
Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators – 20:00 GST, Sharjah
February 21, Thursday
Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings – 20:00 GST, Sharjah
February 22, Friday
Lahore Qalandars v Multan Sultans – 15:30 GST, Sharjah
Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi – 20:00 GST, Sharjah
February 23, Saturday
Quetta Gladiators v Lahore Qalandars – 15:30 GST, Sharjah
Islamabad United v Karachi Kings – 20:00 GST, Sharjah
February 24, Sunday
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi – 15:30 GST, Sharjah
Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings – 20:00 GST, Sharjah
February 26, Tuesday
Islamabad United v Multan Sultans – 20:00 GST, Dubai
February 27, Wednesday
Lahore Qalandars v Quetta Gladiators – 15:30 GST, Dubai
Karachi Kings v Islamabad United – 20:00 GST, Dubai
February 28, Thursday
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi – 15:30 GST, Dubai
Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars – 20:00 GST, Dubai
March 1, Friday
Peshawar Zalmi v Islamabad United – 15:30 GST, Dubai
Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators – 20:00 GST, Dubai
March 4, Monday
Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi – 15:30 GST, Abu Dhabi
Karachi Kings v Multan Sultans – 20:00 GST, Abu Dhabi
March 5, Tuesday
Lahore Qalandars v Peshawar Zalmi – 15:30 GST, Abu Dhabi
Quetta Gladiators v Islamabad United – 20:00 GST, Abu Dhabi
March 7, Thursday
Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi – 18:00 GST, Karachi
March 9, Saturday
Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United – 18:00 GST, Lahore
March 10, Sunday
Karachi Kings v Quetta Gladiators – 13:00 GST, Karachi
Lahore Qalandars v Multan Sultans – 18:00 GST, Lahore
March 12, Tuesday
Eliminator 1 – Lahore
March 13, Wednesday
Qualifier – 18:00 GST, Karachi
March 15, Friday
Eliminator 2 – 18:00 GST, Karachi
March 17, Sunday
Final – Karachi