The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the schedule for the upcoming eighth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL 8). The tournament, which will feature more than 36 foreign players representing 10 T20I playing countries, will kick off on February 13th with an opening ceremony in Multan, followed by the tournament opener between the 2021 winners Multan Sultans and defending champions Lahore Qalandars.
The closing ceremony and final will take place on March 19th in Lahore, which will also host the play-offs. The tournament will see Lahore Qalandars attempt to become the first team to win back-to-back titles, while Islamabad United will aim to become the most successful side by lifting the trophy for the third time.
The teams will play a total of 34 matches over the course of 34 days. Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, and Islamabad United will play five home matches each, one against each side. Rawalpindi will stage 11 fixtures, Karachi and Lahore will host nine matches each, and Multan will have five home games.
The tournament will feature a number of notable players, including T20 World Cup winners Adil Rashid and Matthew Wade, along with Wanindu Hasaranga, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jimmy Neesham, and Tabraiz Shamsi, who will make their debuts.
Additionally, number one ranked Babar Azam will lead 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi for the first time, Imad Wasim will skipper 2020 winners Karachi Kings, Shadab Khan will captain two-time champions Islamabad United, Shaheen Shah Afridi will captain Lahore Qalandars, Mohammad Rizwan will skipper Multan Sultans, and Sarfaraz Ahmed will captain 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators.
In a statement, Chair of PCB Management Committee, Mr Najam Sethi, said, “I am delighted to formally confirm the schedule of the HBL PSL 8, which will allow the Pakistan Cricket Board and the six franchises to start firming up and finalizing their respective event plans and objectives.” He went on to express his hopes that the tournament will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before, and that it will unearth and identify future stars who will go on to represent Pakistan.
PSL 8 Complete Schedule and Complete Squads
PSL 8 SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
(afternoon matches will start at 2pm; evening matches in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi will start at 7pm. Evening matches in Multan will begin at 6pm except for the tournament opener, which will commence at 8pm)
13 Feb – Multan Sultans v Lahore Qalandars, Multan Cricket Stadium
14 Feb – Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi, National Bank Cricket Arena
15 Feb – Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators, Multan Cricket Stadium
16 Feb – Karachi Kings v Islamabad United, National Bank Cricket Arena
17 Feb – Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Cricket Stadium
18 Feb – Karachi Kings v Quetta Gladiators, National Bank Cricket Arena
19 Feb – Multan Sultans v Islamabad United, Multan Cricket Stadium; Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars, National Bank Cricket Arena
20 Feb – Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi, National Bank Cricket Arena
21 Feb – Quetta Gladiators v Lahore Qalandars, National Bank Cricket Arena
22 Feb – Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings, Multan Cricket Stadium
23 Feb – Peshawar Zalmi v Islamabad United, National Bank Cricket Arena
24 Feb – Quetta Gladiators v Islamabad United, National Bank Cricket Arena
26 Feb – Karachi Kings v Multan Sultans, National Bank Cricket Arena; Lahore Qalandars v Peshawar Zalmi, Gaddafi Stadium
27 Feb – Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United, Gaddafi Stadium
1 Mar – Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings, Pindi Cricket Stadium
2 Mar – Lahore Qalandars v Quetta Gladiators, Gaddafi Stadium
3 Mar – Islamabad United v Karachi Kings, Pindi Cricket Stadium
4 Mar – Lahore Qalandars v Multan Sultans, Gaddafi Stadium
5 Mar – Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators, Pindi Cricket Stadium
6 Mar – Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings, Pindi Cricket Stadium
7 Mar – Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Islamabad United v Multan Sultans, Pindi Cricket Stadium
8 Mar – Pakistan Women’s League Exhibition Match 1, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators, Pindi Cricket Stadium
9 Mar – Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars, Pindi Cricket Stadium
10 Mar – Pakistan Women’s League Exhibition Match 2, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Peshawar Zalmi v Multan Sultans, Pindi Cricket Stadium
11 Mar – Pakistan Women’s League Exhibition Match 3, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Quetta Gladiators v Multan Sultans, Pindi Cricket Stadium
12 Mar – Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings, Gaddafi Stadium
15 Mar – Qualifier (1 v 2), Gaddafi Stadium
16 Mar – Eliminator 1 (3 v 4), Gaddafi Stadium
17 Mar – Eliminator 2 (loser Qualifier v winner Eliminator 1), Gaddafi Stadium
19 Mar – Final, Gaddafi Stadium
PSL 8 Complete Squads
Islamabad United – Alex Hales (England), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Shadab Khan (all Platinum), Asif Ali, Fazal Haq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Wasim Jr (all Diamond), Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali (all Gold), Abrar Ahmed, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Rumman Raees, Sohaib Maqsood (all Silver), Hassan Nawaz, Zeeshan Zamir (both Emerging). Moeen Ali (England) and Mubasir Khan (Supplementary)
Karachi Kings – Haider Ali, Imran Tahir (South Africa), Matthew Wade (Australia) (all Platinum), Imad Wasim, James Fuller (New Zealand), James Vince (both England) (all Diamond), Andrew Tye (Australia), Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik (all Gold), Aamer Yamin, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Akhlaq, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir (all Silver), Irfan Khan Niazi, Qasim Akram (both Emerging). Mohammad Umar and Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa) (Supplementary)
Lahore Qalandars – Fakhar Zaman, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Shaheen Shah Afridi (all Platinum), Dawid Wiese (Namibia), Hussain Talat, Haris Rauf (all Diamond), Abdullah Shafique, Liam Dawson (England), Sikander Raza (Zimbabwe) (all Gold), Ahmad Daniyal, Dilbar Hussain, Harry Brook (England), Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Tahir Baig (all Silver), Shawaiz Irfan, Zaman Khan (both Emerging). Jalat Khan and Jordan Cox (England) (both Supplementary)
Multan Sultans – David Miller (South Africa), Josh Little (Ireland), Mohammad Rizwan (all Platinum), Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Shan Masood (all Diamond), Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Shahnawaz Dahani, Tim David (Australia) (all Gold), Anwar Ali, Sameen Gul, Sarwar Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan (both Silver), Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah (both Emerging). Adil Rashid (England) and Arafat Minhas (Supplementary).
Peshawar Zalmi –Babar Azam, Rovman Powell (West Indies), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), (all Platinum), Mujeeb Ur Rehman (Afghanistan), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Wahab Riaz (all Diamond), Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris (all Gold), Aamer Jamal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Usman Qadir (all Silver), Haseebullah Khan, Sufyan Muqeem (both Emerging). Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand) (Supplementary). Peshawar Zalmi will pick their second Supplementary at the Replacement Draft.
Quetta Gladiators – Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) (all Platinum), Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy (England), Odean Smith (West Indies) (all Diamond), Ahsan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed (all Gold), Mohammad Zahid, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Umar Akmal, Umaid Asif, Will Smeed (England) (all Silver), Aimal Khan, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (both Emerging). Martin Guptill (New Zealand) and Omair Bin Yousuf (Supplementary).
