Pakistan Super League 2019 [Preview]

Pakistan Super League 2019 is scheduled to be played in the month of the February in the UAE. The tournament is going to kick-start from 14^th February as Reigning champions Islamabad United take on Lahore Qalandars at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

A total of 26 round-robin games will be played in the UAE across three venues in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The last four round-robin games will be played in Pakistan across two venues in Karachi and Lahore. The major knockout games will be played at National Cricket Stadium in Karachi.

Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators are six franchises that will be competing for the ultimate prize in this year’s competition.

Two-time Champions Islamabad United are the most successful franchise in the history of the PSL as they managed to win trophy twice out of three editions played till now. Peshawar Zalmi lifted the coveted prize in 2017 as Darren Sammy led the franchise to glory in the league.

The PSL Player’s Draft certainly threw plenty of surprises as franchises took different approaches to pick up players for the upcoming season. Lahore Qalandars picked up South African batsman AB De Villiers in the Diamond category.

The inclusion of AB De Villiers will certainly increase Lahore Qalandars chances of doing well in this year’s competition. Former South African batsman has been made himself available for the whole of the competition. Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was picked up Quetta Gladiators while Peshawar Zalmi roped in all-rounder Kieron Pollard for the coming season.

Misbah-ul-Haq will be playing for Peshawar Zalmi for the coming season after being released by Islamabad United. Former Pakistan Captain will be hoping to contribute with the bat for the side in the coming season. The fans will be hoping that Misbah can play more games for the franchise rather than sitting on sidelines in this year’s competition.

For Multan Sultans, Andre Russell, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi were their premier picks for the coming season. The franchise did suffer a setback of sorts as Australia’s Steve Smith has been ruled out of the competition due to a shoulder injury. Andre Russell was picked up as a replacement for Steve Smith for the coming edition of the league.

Mohammad Sami has named as the captain of Islamabad United for the coming season with Shadab Khan as the vice-captain for the franchise. The 38-year old pace bowler was delighted to be given the honor to lead the side in the fourth edition of Pakistan Super League.

Imad Wasim will also be look to increase captaincy credentials as Karachi Kings stake their claim for the title this time around. Babar Azam has been ominous form in recent times that would definitely benefit Kings in helping them make a serious run at the trophy this season. Quetta Gladiators will be led by Dwayne Bravo, who has commendable experience of playing in different T20 Leagues across the globe. Cricket fans would be hoping that Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings can raise their game to make it a much tougher competition in the fourth edition of PSL.

The Qualifier 1 game of the PSL 2019 will be played in Karachi on 13^th March. The Qualifier 2 game of the competition will be played at the same venue on 15^th March. The grand finale of the PSL 2019 will be played in Karachi on 17^th March.