Pakistan Super League (PSL) Third Edition-News, Updates and Discussions

[Kakaspai]

My only request is HD camera like EPL

Bro kia ho gya hy Psl is HD.

 

[ghazi52]

Sachal Orchestra is also performing at PSL 2018 opening ceremony

Can you guess what they'll perform?


Are you excited for the PSL 2018 opening?

Sufi legend Abida Parveen is performing, American pop star Jason Derulo is making an appearance and Ali Zafar and Shehzad Roy are also sure to bring the house down on February 22.

But we'll be kicking things off on a more patriotic note with Sachal Orchestra performing the national anthem!

The ensemble group is known to fuse eastern and western sounds to recreate famous tracks, ranging from John Lennon's 'Imagine' and the Pink Panther theme to most recently, Game of Thrones' title track! We're sure their rendition of the national anthem will be a soul-stirring start to PSL!

The PSL opening ceremony is scheduled to take place in Dubai on February 22, 2018.

 

[Kambojaric]

5 potential breakout stars to watch out for in PSL 2018
Zohaib Ahmed MajeedFebruary 14, 2018

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Salman Irshad

Glad to see LQ managing to get on-board two very promising cricketers. Shadab Khan was a great find last year by Islamabad. Hopefully one of these two can stand out in this PSL.

 

[ghazi52]

Peshawar Zalmi unveil PSL 2018 kit

— Peshawar Zalmi

Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Peshawar Zalmi unveiled its kit for the upcoming 2018 season in a glitzy ceremony held in Lahore on Tuesday.

Members of Zalmi squad and showbiz duo of Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi wore the new amber stripes for the first time in front of the media.

The event was also attended by Zalmi Chairman Javed Afridi, club president Zaheer Abbas, PCB Chairman Najam Sethi as well as his predecessor Shahryar Khan.

During the ceremony, Sethi praised the role Afridi and his franchise played in bringing international players to Pakistan for the PSL 2 final last year.

The PCB chairman also said that Zalmi is the most active and vibrant of all the PSL franchises.

 

[ghazi52]

PSL-3 2018 Teams Squad & Players

PSL-season 3 will be starting on February 22, 2018, and this year many international players and legendary stars and participating in this tournament. PSL has a new team Multan Sultans from the city of Multan. The opening match will be played between Last time defenders Peshawar Zalmi & very new team Multan Sultans.

All the teams and the respective players in these teams are as follows.


Islamabad United

• Misbah-ul-Haq (c)
• Rumman Raees (VC)
• Andre Russell
• Alex Hales
• JP Duminy
• Asela Gunaratne
• Chadwick Walton (wk)
• Shadab Khan
• Faheem Ashraf
• Samuel Badree
• David Willey
• Steven Finn [6] • Mohammad Sami
• Sahibzada Farhan
• Sam Billings (wk)
• Luke Ronchi (wk)
• Mohammad Hasan(wk)
• Iftikhar Ahmed
• Amad Butt
• Asif Ali
• Hussain Talat
• Mohammad Hasnain
• Zafar Gohar
• Rohail Nazir


Karachi Kings

• Imad Wasim (c)
• Shahid Afridi. (Vc)
• Mohammad Amir
• Babar Azam
• Tymal Mills
• Eoin Morgan
• Lendl Simmons
• Colin Ingram
• Ravi Bopara
• Joe Denly
• David Wiese
• Mohammad Rizwan(wk)
• Saifullah Bangash (wk)
• Usama Mir
• Khurram Manzoor
• Hasan Mohsin
• Mohammad Irfan
• Tabish Khan
• Mohammad Taha
• Mushtaq Ahmed Kalhoro


Lahore Qalandars

• Brendon McCullum(c)
• Chris Lynn
• Umar Akmal
• Sunil Narine
• Fakhar Zaman (vc)
• Yasir Shah
• Mustafizur Rahman
• Dinesh Ramdin (wk)
• Sohail Khan
• Anton Devcich
• Mitchell McClenaghan
• Cameron Delport
• Gulraiz Sadaf (wk)
• Bilal Asif
• Aamer Yamin
• Bilawal Bhatti
• Sohail Akhtar
• Raza Hasan
• Shaheen Afridi
• Ghulam Mudassar
• Imran Khan
• Salman Irshad



Multan Sultans

• Shoaib Malik (c)
• Kieron Pollard (vc)
• Imran Tahir
• Thisara Perera
• Ahmed Shehzad
• Darren Bravo
• Sohail Tanvir
• Junaid Khan
• Hardus Viljoen
• Kumar Sangakkara(wk)
• Umar Gul
• Irfan Khan
• Sohaib Maqsood
• Saif Badar
• Ross Whiteley
• Umar Siddiq
• Kashif Bhatti
• Irfan Khan
• Mohammad Abbas
• Abdullah Shafique
• Shan Masood



Peshawar Zalmi

• Darren Sammy (c)
• Mohammad Hafeez(vc)
• Hasan Ali
• Tamim Iqbal
• Dwayne Smith
• Dwayne Bravo
• Shakib Al Hasan
• Liam Dawson
• Andre Fletcher
• Wahab Riaz
• Evin Lewis
• Kamran Akmal (wk)
• Haris Sohail
• Chris Jordan
• Hammad Azam
• Mohammad Asghar
• Saad Nasim
• Sameen Gul
• Ibtisam Sheikh
• Taimur Sultan
• Mohammad Arif
• Khushdil Shah



Quetta Gladiators

• Sarfraz Ahmed (c) (wk)
• Hassan Khan
• Kevin Pietersen
• Shane Watson
• Rilee Rossouw
• Jofra Archer
• Ben Laughlin
• Jason Roy
• Albie Morkel
• Mahmudullah Riyad
• John Hastings
• Asad Shafiq. (Vc)
• Mohammad Nawaz
• Rashid Khan
• Chris Green
• Rahat Ali
• Anwar Ali
• Mir Hamza
• Umar Amin
• Rameez Raja
• Saad Ali
• Saud Shakeel
• Faraz Ahmed
• Mohammad Azam Khan
• Mohammad Junaid

 

[ghazi52]

Mahira Khan replaces Humaima Malick as Peshawar Zalmi's brand ambassador

PHOTO: TWITTER/PESHAWAR ZALMI

While Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi are busy filming for their upcoming venture, Maula Jatt 2, the duo has come together to support the PSL team Peshawar Zalmi in it’s third season.






The famed actors made an appearance at the kit launch held in Lahore on Tuesday night. They were ecstatic about being part of Peshawar Zalmi.

The stars of Peshawar Zalmi, including cricketers Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, Hammad Azam and Mohammad Hafeez, were also present at the ceremony.




While Abbasi has been supportive of the team since it’s initiation, this is the first time Khan has taken up the role. Earlier, along with Abbasi, Humaima Malick was the brand ambassador of the Khpal team.


Surprisingly enough, Malick is also part of Maula Jatt 2 which is currently being filmed under Bilal Lashari’s direction. The film is the first time the trio will be seen working together.

 

[ghazi52]

PSL preview: Lahore Qalandars hope for a change in fortune

Their roster has some of the biggest T20 stars. The hype they create remains unmatched for any other franchise. But when it comes down to business, they fail.

The Lahore Qalandars have lost 11 of the 16 matches they have played across the two editions of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). On both occasions, they finish bottom of the table.

They did, however, show slight improvement in the second go-round, winning three of their eight matches as compared to just two during the inaugural event. Even two of their five losses were closely fought encounters.

A combination of off-field troubles and bad luck could be blamed for the Qalandars inability to move up from the bottom of the table.

In the first edition of the PSL, they had to do without Mustafizur Rehman and Yasir Shah, as the former was denied a No Objection Certificate and the latter got banned for doping.

In the follow-up season, meanwhile, they lost their star West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo to a hamstring injury.

Fakhar Zaman has been made the vice-captain by Qalandars for PSL 3. —Reuters


This year, however, they head into the tournament with a near-perfect blend of experience and youth. What makes the Qalandars stand out from the rest is their domestic talent-hunt programme that has unearthed potential future stars for Pakistan cricket.

The Qalandars have named Fakhar Zaman as vice-captain in their bid to groom the 27-year-old for a leadership role under the guidance of former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.

The team owners have made the right moves in the off-season, adding some more specialist T20 players to their ranks.

Their capture of Chris Lynn, an explosive T20 opener from Australia who has racked up almost 2,000 runs at a blistering strike rate of 148, was considered a major coupe in the 2018 draft.

The franchise has also made some major changes to its backroom staff, with Aqib Javed replacing Paddy Upton as the new head coach, while Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Shoaib Akhtar were appointed batting and bowling consultants respectively.


Player availability
The Qalandars were forced into making two changes during the replacement draft last month.

They replaced the injured Angelo Mathews with Anton Devcich, and drafted West Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin in place of Mustafizur Rehman.


Strengths
The Qalandars possess experienced T20 players in both batting and bowling departments.

The addition of Chris Lynn bolsters a top order that already had hard-hitters such as McCullum, Zaman, and Umar Akmal.

The presence of Sunil Narine, who has four 50s in the format to his name and scores at a strike rate of almost 150, and Sohail Khan, who also has the ability to hit out of the park, adds great depth to their batting unit.

Young Shaheen Afridi will be looking to impress in the tournament. — Twitter


In bowling department, the Qalandars have struck a balance between pace and spin.

Their spearhead would likely be Sohail who, with 16 scalps to his name, was the highest wicket-take of PSL 2017. He will be supported by Mustafizur Rehman (if only for a few matches), Mitchell McClenaghan, and all-rounder Aamer Yamin.

Then, they have the prodigious and precocious left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, who left a lasting impression in the recent Under-19 World Cup by taking 12 wickets — just two fewer than the tournament's highest wicket-taker — in five matches at an average of 14.58.

The team’s spin department includes Sunil Narine, the third-highest wicket taker in T20 format with 307 wickets in 262 matches, and Raza Hasan, who will make his PSL debut after completing a drug ban.

The pair will be backed by Yasir Shah, who has been spearheading Pakistan’s Test bowling attack over the last three years, but is yet to leave a mark in limited-overs cricket.

Weaknesses
Despite having such a well-rounded unit, the Qalandars are still prone to throwing away matches.

Captaincy and how the team approaches the games also remain major issue. Midway through the first PSL, they took away the armband from Azhar Ali and handed it to Dwayne Bravo but it did not help the Qalandars secure a play-off berth.

Last year, they roped in McCullum as their captain with the hope of having a more aggressive approach, but the results stayed the same.

This year, all eyes will be on their new vice-captain: Fakhar Zaman


The player to watch out for: Umar Akmal

The younger Akmal is more of a problem child for the Pakistan Cricket Board. He has been in the news more for his off-field antics than for his on-field performances.

Moreover, there have also always been question marks on his fitness — a proof of which was him failing multiple fitness tests last year in the buildup to the Champions Trophy, for which he was sent back home.

A few months later, he accused head coach Mickey Arthur of unfair treatment when he wanted to train at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

What type of headlines will Umar Akmal make this time? — File photo


Consistency is another of Akmal's vices, evident by him being the leading run-scorer in the PSL 2016 followed by an average tournament the next year.

Nonetheless, he is a 'talented youngster', for which the Qalandars have retained him in their squad.  

With his performances dipping day by day, it will be interesting to see how Akmal responds to the hopes that Qalandars have pinned on him.

 

[ghazi52]

Tickets for PSL Lahore playoffs go on sale online

Tickets for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 Lahore playoffs scheduled for March 20 and 21 went on sale online on Yayvo.com on Thursday. They will also be available for sale at select TCS outlets.

The tickets are expected to range from Rs1,000 for a General Enclosure to Rs6,000 for a seat in the VIP enclosures. Enclosures for which tickets are on sale include the Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Fazal Mahmood, Imran Khan, A.H. Kardar, Majid Khan, Inzamamul Haq, Nazar Mohammad, Quaid, Abdul Qadir, Rajas, Javed Miandad, Saeed Ahmed, Imtiaz Ahmed, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Anwar and Sarfraz Nawaz enclosures.



https://twitter.com/thePSLt20/status/964103850780184576
PakistanSuperLeague

✔@thePSLt20

The announcement people in Lahore are waiting for

Tickets of HBLPSL 2018 Eliminators are now available. Get your tickets

now from

http://yayvo.com/psl-tickets

For more details: http://www.psl-t20.com/ticket-sales-for-hbl-psl-lahore-eliminators/ …

Delivery for the Lahore playoff tickets will begin in March, according to the ticketing website.

The tickets for the PSL final at Karachi's National Stadium on March 25 are expected to go on sale in the first week of March.

Peshawar Zalmi and the Multan Sultans will kick off the third season of PSL on Feb 22 in Dubai.

 

[ghazi52]

Quetta Gladiators announce Aima Baig as their team ambassador

Meet KARACHI KINGS players, Celebrities and Singers at the Biggest Team launch Event of Karachi kings 2018 at Bahria Town Fountain Karachi on 17th Feb at 7:00 pm

 

[ghazi52]

Islamabad United beat Quetta Gladiators by 59 runs in exhibition match

RAWALPINDI: Chasing a mammoth target of 291 set by Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators managed 231/8 in an exhibition match between the two Pakistan Super Leauge (PSL) sides at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Umer Amin made 32-ball 77 to launch the foundation for the chase, but middle-order Quetta batsman failed to capitalize the perfect start.

Earlier, Asif Ali smashed a sparking century to guide his Islamabad United team to 290.
















https://twitter.com/IsbUnited/status/964175621457874944
Islamabad United

✔@IsbUnited

What a game! What a crowd!

We are overwhelmed with the response. Thank you Rawalpindi. Our brand ambassador @_fawadakhan_ had a great time chatting with our #ISLUFamily. We love our fans no matter what.#UnitedWeWin #HBLAllStarsMuqabla #SherKiDhaar #JungKaMaidaan

 

[ghazi52]

PSL 2018 preview: Multan Sultans set to make the competition tougher


The Multan Sultans, a franchise representing Pakistan's fifth-largest city, will make its debut in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018.

Their addition will make the PSL’s third edition lengthier as the four-week-long tournament will now host 34 matches — 10 more than the second edition.

The expansion of the PSL, after just two seasons, signifies the popularity the T20 league enjoys in the country.

The Sultans’ sale price is also telling of this fact. The league's first expansion franchise was acquired by the Dubai-based firm Schon Group at a price of $5.2m per year — exactly the double of what was paid for the previous most expensive team: the Karachi Kings.

Multan Sultans' Director of Cricket Operations Wasim Akram speaks at logo launch. —Photo courtesy Multan Sultans


Their roster was completed in two phases. Its core unit — their captain Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sohail Tanvir — came together in October, 2017 when the franchise announced their nine picks from the players released by the other five franchises. The remaining line-up was finalised during the player draft in November.

The franchise roped in Wasim Akram, credited for playing an instrumental role in Islamabad United’s title triumph in the inaugural edition, as Director of Cricket Operations.

Tom Moody, the seasoned Australian coach under whose tutelage Sri Lanka reached the final of the 2007 World Cup and the Sunrisers Hyderabad won the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League, was appointed as head coach.

Strengths

Sultans’ squad is built around specialist T20 all-rounders in the likes of Malik, Pollard, and Sohail Tanvir, who is the only bowling all-rounder in the list. But their batting is their strongest suit.

With players like Ahmed Shehzad, Darren Bravo, Kumar Sangakkara assisted by pinch-hitters Pollard, Malik, Sohaib Maqsood and globetrotter Tanvir, the Sultans have all the right ingredients to post big scores.

The presence of Pollard and Malik — the third- and the fifth-highest run scorers in the T20 format with 7,883 runs at a strike rate of 151 and 7,450 at 124 respectively — gives them much-desired depth in their batting unit.

Weaknesses
It is the spinners who wreak havoc on the pitches in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. However, the Sultans have invested heavily to take Pakistan’s left-arm pace attack on board with the signings of Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Abbas.

Will Imran Tahir alone be enough to lead the Sultans' attack? —AFP/File


They have also picked Imran Tahir, who has accumulated 217 wickets at an average of 22, in the Platinum category, but they lack a decent spin partner to support the South Africa international. This could potentially allow opposition batsmen an opportunity to score freely in the middle-overs.

Moreover, the Sultans, a newly-knit unit, will require time to gel, which might allow the already established oppositions to bag crucial points against them early on.

Player to watch: Ahmed Shehzad

Many were taken aback when the Sultans picked Ahmed Shehzad in the last round of the Gold category. Once one of the most trusted openers in the Pakistan side, he was slated in the Platinum category, but no franchise opted for the Quetta Gladiators’ discard.

In the previous edition, the 26-year-old accumulated 242 runs in 10 matches at an average of just 27.

Can Ahmed Shehzad find form at the right time? —AP


Wasim Akram admitted that eyebrows were raised when his side announced Ahmed Shehzad as their pick but promised to motivate the opener so that he applies himself 100 percent come PSL time.

Ahmed Shehzad seems to have listened to the advice as he scored 341 runs at an average of 49 in Lahore Blues’ successful National T20 Cup campaign, hitting two 50s and a hundred.

Player availability

West Indian wicket keeper Nicholas Pooran, who will be unavailable for the first three matches because of a 50-over tournament back home, will be covered for by Afghanistan spinner Zahir Khan.

 

[ghazi52]

Lahore Qalandars reached Dubai.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

They should have had the opening of Tournament in Pakistan

 

[Jungibaaz]

When is the first match? Is it first fixture on 22nd Feb? I want to record them and watch when I have time.

 

[The Diplomat]

Look guys snd girls, there’s one team that will win... As we all know it’s LQ.

Despite that there is another winner; it’s Pakistan which will host the semifinals and final!

Ps: Every has to love the LQ owner.

Why didn’t anyone pick Grant Elliot? He’s a massive run scorer...