Tag: PSL 2022

  • Afridi, Vince move to Quetta, Azam Khan moves to Islamabad

    Afridi, Vince move to Quetta, Azam Khan moves to Islamabad

    The reports of former captain Pakistan cricket team Shahid Afridi being moved to Quetta Gladiators were circulating on social media and now the news has been confirmed by the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) page and franchise Quetta Gladiators. It’s going to be the fourth PSL team for the 41-year-old after he last played for the Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans and the Peshawar Zalmi. In the previous edition, he was a part of the Sultans, who won their maiden PSL title under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan.

    For the Gladiators, Afridi is most likely to play under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy. The upcoming edition may well be his last season in the T20 championship. The former Pakistan all-rounder wished to sign off from the PSL after guiding the Gladiators through to title glory.

    “I am excited to join Quetta Gladiators, a side that has had a roller-coaster ride in the past few events despite winning the title in 2019. In my final HBL PSL event, it will my dream and wish to sign off with another HBL PSL trophy after tasting success with Peshawar Zalmi in 2017.

    “HBL PSL is an event that encourages and inspires a player to give his very best. I will use the same motivation to help my team and put in performances that can help us achieve our event objectives,” Afridi said on PSL’s official website.

    Along with Afridi, England’s James Vince has also been traded from the Sultans to the Gladiators. Iftikhar Ahmed, who played for Islamabad United in last edition, will play alongside newly traded Vince and Afridi in the Gladiators.

    Young wicket keeper-batter Azam Khan, who represented the Gladiators last season, will play for United in the upcoming season. The PSL draft is scheduled to take place at the High Performance Centre in Lahore on Sunday, December 12.

  • Here is what you need to know about PSL 7 draft, schedule

    Here is what you need to know about PSL 7 draft, schedule

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) seventh edition will begin on January 27, 2022, with the draft to be held on December 12. The league, which begins about a month earlier than usual to make room for Australia’s upcoming tour in March-April, will have the final take place on February 27.

    “Following an opening ceremony, defending champions Multan Sultans will take on hosts and 2020 champions Karachi Kings at the National Stadium with the first ball to be bowled at 7pm” on January 27, a PCB press release said, adding that 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators would go toe to toe with 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi the following day.

    “After Karachi, which will host 15 matches from January 27 to February 7, action will shift to the Gaddafi Stadium where the remaining 15 league matches and the four play-offs will be played from February 10-27,” the PCB said.

    It will be the first time since 2017 when the headquarters of Pakistan cricket will host the PSL final.

    The National Stadium in Karachi had staged the league’s finals from 2018 to 2020, while Abu Dhabi was the venue for the 2021 final, where Multan Sultans defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs.

    Speaking on the matter, PCB Chairperson Ramiz Raja said: “I am delighted that the HBL PSL 7 schedule has been announced. This will now get the ball rolling with the teams to start planning and finalising their line-ups and the PCB increasing the pace of the operational delivery to ensure they provide quality playing facilities for the players as well as a five-star experience to the fans and our valued commercial partners.”

    “The HBL PSL 7 will also kickstart what will be a bumper year for Pakistan cricket with the Australia men’s cricket team to play a full series in March-April with England men’s cricket side to tour Pakistan twice for white-ball and red-ball cricket,” Raja added.

    Player draft

    According to the press release, the PCB has decided to hold the player draft for the league at its National High Performance Centre in Lahore on December 12.

    “Each side will come to the draft with a maximum of eight-player retentions from the last event,” it further stated. “Following the finalisation of player categories, the transfer and retention window is now officially open and will close on December 10.”

    According to the press release, Lahore Qalandars will have the first pick in the Platinum category, Diamond category, Gold category and Emerging category, Peshawar Zalmi will have the first pick in the Silver category, and Quetta Gladiators will have the first pick in the Supplementary category.

    Local players’ category renewals

    The press release said the PCB, after a review and assessment process, had updated local players’ categories.

    “In the biggest moves, Pakistan wicketkeeper/batter and Multan Sultan’s captain Mohammad Rizwan (previously Silver), Asif Ali of Islamabad United (previously Gold) and Lahore Qalandars’ Haris Rauf (previously Diamond) have been placed in Platinum Category.”

    Moreover, Multan Sultans’ Sohaib Maqsood, who was named the Player of HBL PSL’s sixth edition, and Haider Ali of Peshawar Zalmi have moved up from Silver and Gold categories to Diamond category, respectively.

    Schedule for matches in Karachi:

    • Jan 27: Karachi Kings vs Multan Sultans

    • Jan 28: Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi

    • Jan 29: Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars; Karachi Kings vsQuetta Gladiators

    • Jan 30: Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United; Karachi Kings vsLahore Qalandars

    • Jan 31: Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans

    • Feb 1: Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans

    • Feb 2: Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars

    • Feb 3: Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United

    • Feb 4: Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi

    • Feb 5: Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars; Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans

    • Feb 6: Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United

    • Feb 7: Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars

    Schedule for matches in Lahore:

    • Feb 10: Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi

    • Feb 11: Lahore Qalandars vs Multan Sultans

    • Feb 12: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators

    • Feb 13: Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings; Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators

    • Feb 14: Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings

    • Feb 15: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators

    • Feb 16: Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings

    • Feb 17: Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi

    • Feb 18: Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators; Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings

    • Feb 19: Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United

    • Feb 20: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings; Multan Sultans vsIslamabad United

    • Feb 21: Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi

    • Feb 23: Qualifier (1 vs 2)

    • Feb 24: Eliminator 1 (3 vs 4)

    • Feb 25: Eliminator 2 (Loser Qualifier 1 vs Winner Eliminator 1)

    • Feb 27: (Qualifier v Eliminator 2) Final

  • Shahid Afridi reportedly to play for Quetta Gladiators in PSL 2022

    Shahid Afridi reportedly to play for Quetta Gladiators in PSL 2022

    Pakistan’s former captain Shahid Afridi will reportedly be playing for Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) franchise Quetta Gladiators. Nadeem Omar, who is the owner of the Quetta Gladiators, had confirmed the same.

    Read More – ‘The problem I have with Shahid [Afridi]…’, Shoaib Akhtar tells all

    Earlier in June, Afridi, who has played for Omar’s Galle Gladiators in Sri Lanka Premier League (SPL), had himself stated that he would like to be a part of the Quetta Gladiators franchise in his last PSL season in 2022. And, this news was even confirmed by Azam Khan, who is the manager of the Quetta Gladiators.

    “If the franchise [Multan Sultans] releases me, I will prefer to represent the Quetta Gladiators in my last season,” Afridi had said in an interview. You can also see a tweet about Shahid Afridi playing for the Quetta Gladiators below.

    The player draft for the 2022 season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will take place in the second week of December. But then, the manager of the Multan Sultans and COO, Haider Azhar has revealed that Afridi being released by the franchise has not been confirmed as of now.

    Afridi has played 50 matches in the PSL and has scalped 44 wickets. With the bat, Afridi has smashed 465 runs in his PSL career. He has played with Multan Sultans in the last season and spent two seasons at Peshawar Zalmi and one at Karachi Kings. If he shifts to Gladiators, it will be his fourth team in the league.

  • PSL seven to be played in January-February 2022 to avoid clash with IPL

    PSL seven to be played in January-February 2022 to avoid clash with IPL

    The seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be played in Pakistan from January-February next year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed after consulting the six franchises. The tournament is expected to start in early January and continue till the third week of February.

    As per the press release issued by PCB, the schedule has been drawn up despite a date clash with the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.

    Lahore and Karachi will host 17 matches each, with the final to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

    The regular PSL window, since 2016, has been in February-March, but in 2022, Pakistan is hoping to host Australia. That forced PCB to work a window either before the series against Australia or after, and neither window was without its share of clashes. April-May clashes with the IPL, and that affects the broadcasting and commercial arrangements. It is also likely to affect player availability. That window will also overlap with the month of Ramzan.

    The January-February period isn’t free either, because the BBL takes place then, and a number of premier T20 players are expected to be occupied there. There is also the issue of the weather in the Punjab province of Pakistan, which tends to be foggy in winter. To deal with the weather, the PCB has decided to start the PSL in Karachi, which is in the Sindh province, in January, and then travel to Lahore, in Punjab, in February, when it is likely to be more conducive.

    The Covid-19 pandemic has hampered the PSL schedule for the past two seasons, as it has the cricket calendar around the world. The fifth and sixth editions of the tournament were both played in two chunks. The 2021 edition started in February in Pakistan but was postponed after 14 matches and completed in June in Abu Dhabi. In 2020, the tournament started on time in February, but though the league stage was completed by March, the playoffs could only be held in November.

    The seventh edition of the PSL will also have fresh broadcast and commercial partners after the previous deals concluded this year after a three-year run. The PCB has confirmed that it is presently working at a framework for the evaluation of the rights and their subsequent sale. The PCB is expected to hire an independent consultant to evaluate the value of the brand. In the last cycle, the PCB had secured a 358% rise in the broadcast deal, worth approximately USD 36 million.