The Action-packed 8th Edition of the Pakistan Super League 2023 (PSL) is all set to begin
The last season of the PSL was dominated by Lahore Qalandars as they finally finished their PSL drought and won the trophy for the first time ever. One of the favorite teams of the fans, Qalandars could not live up to the expectations because of poor performances in the past. They had the luxury of modern-day greats like Brendon McCullum, and AB de Villiers, but still they could not make it big. So, they will be more confident to play this edition and defend their title this time. The tournament is all set to commence on 13th of February in an inauguration ceremony to be held at Multan Cricket Stadium. Since 2015, the PSL has gained a lot of attention from the cricket fraternity and growing in popularity among cricket fans in Pakistan, and all around the globe.
For this season Pakistan Super League 2023, the number of foreign players picked is 36, and 17 of them are English cricketers. Some of the biggest names in white ball cricket for England are part of the tournament. Jason Roy is will be playing for the Quetta Gladiators, whereas Alex Hales is part of the Islamabad United. Tom Curran, Richard Gleeson, Tymal Mills, and Gus Atkinson have also been picked for this latest edition. Moeen Ali was picked by Islamabad United, but he is likely to skip this season to attend England’s international white ball cricket season. The latest fast-bowling sensation Shaheen Afridi will be returning to the cricket arena after a long break due to his knee injury. He will be part of the exciting Lahore Qalandars team.
The first match of the tournament will be a repeat of the last season’s finale, as Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultan will meet in an exciting clash. This edition is split into two phases, the first phase will be played in Multan and Karachi with 14 matches, whereas the second phase matches will be played in Rawalpindi and Lahore. Each team will play 2 matches against the other teams, and the top four teams will qualify for the next phase, where two games will be played. The first qualifier can directly book a spot in the final, and the second match will be an eliminator 1. The Qualifier match runner-up and Eliminator 1 winner will play their Eliminator 2 match, and the winner of this game will join the other team in the final, to be played on the 19th of March.