The third edition of the Pakistan Super League is upon us with matches set to start in Dubai on February 22 and culminate in Karachi on March 25.

Some of the most exciting T20 players in the world will battle it out in Dubai and Sharjah over the coming few weeks to give cricket fans in the UAE and across the world an unforgettable experience.

This year, the action will be even more intense with the addition of a sixth franchise – Multan Sultans – to the roster. With the stage set for another exciting edition of the PSL,  here we take a look at how the six teams stack up.

KARACHI KINGS

Previous record: Fourth (2016), Third (2017)

Coach: Mickey Arthur

Captain: Imad Wasim

Batsmen: Eoin Morgan, Lendl Simmons, Babar Azam, Khurram Manzoor, Colin Ingram, Joe Denly

All-rounders: Shahid Afridi, Ravi Bopara, Hasan Mohsin, David Wiese, Mohammad Taha

Wicket-keepers: Mohammad Rizwan, Saifullah Bangesh

Bowlers: Mohammad Amir, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Mohammad Irfan Jr, Tabish Khan, Tymal Mills

Strengths: In Morgan, Azam, Afridi and Ingram, possess enough batting quality. Have fine all-round talents in Wasim, Bopara and Wiese. The signing of Afridi from Peshawar a shot in the arm.

Weaknesses: Apart from Amir, the pace attack lacks genuine experience. Mills hasn’t performed well this season.

Verdict: Playoffs. Have progressed in every edition since the tournament was launched and expect a similar result this time.

LAHORE QALANDARS

Previous record: Group Stage (2016 and 2017)

Coach: Aaqib Javed

Captain: Brendon McCullum

Batsmen: Cameron Delport, Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar, Chris Lynn

All-rounders: Aamer Yamin, Bilal Asif, Anton Devcich, Agha Salman

Wicket-keepers: Umar Akmal, Denesh Ramdin, Gulraiz Sadaf

Bowlers: Sohail Khan, Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah, Ghulam Mudassar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Raza Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Irshad

Strengths: A very strong bowling attack with enough variety. In Lynn, have the most destructive T20 batsman on the planet.

Weaknesses: Not enough depth in batting. If Lynn gets injured again, could struggle to get a move on. All-rounder Angelo Mathews withdrew from the event, leaving a big hole to fill.

Verdict: Group stage. Finished last in both editions winning two (2016) and three (2017) matches, respectively. Likely to be another frustrating campaign for Javed’s side.

McCullum will lead Lahore.

PESHAWAR ZALMI

Previous record: Third (2016), Champions (2017)

Coach: Mohammad Akram

Captain: Darren Sammy

Batsmen: Rikki Wessels, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Arif, Khushdil Shah, Taimoor Sultan

All-rounders: Mohammed Hafeez, Darren Sammy, Haris Sohail, Dwayne Bravo, Hammad Azam, Saad Nasim, Khalid Usman

Wicket-keepers: Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher

Bowlers: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Asghar, Sameen Gul, Ibtisam Sheikh

Strengths: A strong all-rounder department with Sammy, Shakib and Bravo. Also have a fine pace attack of Ali, Wahab and Jordan that is up there with the best in the league.

Weaknesses: Sammy has a largely balanced squad at his disposal. However, lack an established wrist spinner.

Verdict: Champions. It’s hard to look beyond the defending champions for the title, especially as they have retained the core squad of last edition.

Sammy is the darling of PSL.

QUETTA GLADIATORS

Previous record: Runners-up (2016), Runners-up (2017)

Coach: Moin Khan

Captain: Sarfraz Ahmed

Batsmen: Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Jason Roy, Asad Shafiq, Rameez Raja Jr, Saad Ali

All-rounders: Shane Watson, Jofra Archer, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Saud Shakeel, John Hastings, Umar Amin

Wicket-keepers: Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Azam Khan

Bowlers: Hasan Khan, Rashid Khan, Mir Hamza, Rahat Ali, Faraz Ahmed

Strengths: With the additions of T20 sensation Rashid Khan – albeit for a brief spell due to his World Cup qualifier commitment – as well as Jofra Archer, the finalists of the first two editions have two proven match-winners in their ranks.

Weaknesses: Pace bowling is the one area where Quetta fall short and it will be up to the all-rounders to make up for it.

Verdict: Final: Having made it to the title clash in both seasons, Sarfraz’s men should be able to repeat that feat.

Sarfraz has a lot on his plate.

ISLAMABAD UNITED

Previous record: Winners (2016), Fourth (2017)

Coach: Dean Jones

Captain: Misbah-ul-Haq

Batsmen: Sam Billings, Asif Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Alex Hales, Chadwick Walton

All-rounders: JP Duminy, Ammad Butt, Andre Russell, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rohail Nazir

Wicketkeepers: Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Hasan, Samit Patel

Bowlers: Shadab Khan, Samuel Badree, Rumman Raees, Mohammad Sami, Zafar Gohar, David Willey, Mohammad Husnain, Steven Finn

Strengths: The leadership of Misbah, even post retirement, adds another dimension to the team. Have a solid batting line-up and two world-class leg-spinners in Shadab and Badree.

Weakness: English players likely to be available only later in the tournament. Have aged players like Badree, Sami and Samit.

Verdict: Playoffs: Have enough quality to make it through the opening stage.

MULTAN SULTANS

Debut

Coach: Tom Moody

Captain: Shoaib Malik

Batsmen: Darren Bravo, Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Sohaib Maqsood, Nicholas Pooran, Saif Badar, Umer Siddiq

All-rounders: Kieron Pollard, Abdullah Shafique, Ross Whiteley, Thisara Perera

Wicketkeeper: Kumar Sangakkara

Bowlers: Imran Tahir, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Kashif Bhatti, M Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Hardus Viljoen, Umar Gul, Zahir Khan

Strengths: A fine batting line-up and some serious hitting power in the middle. Starting from scratch so will carry no pressure of expectations:

Weakness: Lack of experience as a unit. Plus don’t have the best international bowling talent. Also just one quality spinner

Verdict: Group stage. Likely to take their time to get their bearings right.