Pakistan Cricket’s most prestigious event of T20 leagues schedule released now and this PCB’s marquee event to take place from 27 January to 27 February; Karachi to host 15 matches in first-leg, Lahore to stage remaining 19 matches
The tournament will span over 34 days with each team playing an equal number of matches at both venues, including the same number of day and floodlit matches.
The HBL PSL Draft 2022, where players will be picked and dropped, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 12, at 3pm PKT at the High Performance Centre in Lahore.
Asif Ali, known for his super finishing skills in ICC World T20, along with pace sensation Haris Rauf and the committed Mohammad Rizwan, have been upgraded to the Platinum Category. Additionally, Haider Ali and Sohaib Maqsood have moved up to the Diamond category as part of the renewal process for local players’ categories.
The anticipation for the Pakistan Cricket Board’s premier event, the HBL Pakistan Super League 2022, has kicked off with the announcement of the schedule for the seventh edition.
After an exciting opening ceremony, the defending champions, Multan Sultans, will face off against the hosts and 2020 champions, Karachi Kings, at the National Stadium. The action will commence with the first ball set to be bowled at 7pm PKT.
2019 champions Quetta Gladiators will go toe to toe with 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi on the following day on Friday.
In the first of the six double-headers scheduled in the 32-day, 34-match tournament, Multan Sultans will face off against the 2020 runners-up, Lahore Qalandars, at 2pm PKT. This will be followed by the clash between Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators, with the match set to begin at 7pm PKT on Saturday.
On Sunday afternoon, two-time champions Islamabad United will be in action as they lock horns with Peshawar Zalmi. Following this, the evening match will feature a clash between arch-rivals Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars.
After Karachi, which will host 15 matches from January 27th to February 7th, action will shift to the Gaddafi Stadium. Here, the remaining 15 league matches and the four play-offs will take place from February 10th to February 27th.
The final on February 27th will mark the return of the event to the headquarters of Pakistan cricket. The National Stadium hosted the finals from 2018 to 2020. In 2021, the final was held in Abu Dhabi, where the Sultans defeated Zalmi by 47 runs.
The PCB has structured the 2022 tournament to ensure that each team plays an equal number of matches in both Karachi and Lahore, including games played under natural and artificial lighting.
HBL PSL Draft 2022
The PCB has scheduled the HBL PSL Draft 2022 to take place at the High Performance Centre in Lahore on Sunday, 12 December, starting at 3pm.
Each side will come to the draft with a maximum of eight player retentions from the last event. Players can now be transferred or retained, and this window will stay open until December 10th.
In the Platinum category, Lahore Qalandars will pick first, followed by Multan Sultans, Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators. In the Diamond category, Lahore Qalandars will also pick first, followed by Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings, and Multan Sultans.
Lahore Qalandars will choose first in the Gold category, Peshawar Zalmi in the Silver category, Lahore Qalandars again in the Emerging category, and Quetta Gladiators in the Supplementary category.
Local players’ category renewals
In significant developments, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper/batsman and Multan Sultans’ captain, Mohammad Rizwan (formerly in the Silver category), Asif Ali of Islamabad United (previously in the Gold category), and Lahore Qalandars’ Haris Rauf (formerly in the Diamond category) have been elevated to the Platinum category.
The PCB has updated the categories for local players after a review and assessment process.
Point to Ponder
The most shocking decision of PSL management and coaches to relegate all season top performer Kamran Akmal who is the only batsman scored three centuries in the event from Platinum to Gold Category.
PSL GM Commercial Imran Ahmad Resigned from His Post
Pakistan Cricket Board/ PSL GM commercial manager Imran Ahmad who was part of PSL management since 2014 and promoted step by step to the post of GM commercial has resigned on promotion issue and PCB/PSL management gave this task to Usman Wahla as HoD PSL.
