KARACHI – Multan Sultans will take on defending champions Peshawar Zalmiin the opening match in the third edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) inDubai today (Thursday), after a rousing opening ceremony set to include aperformance by US rapper Jason Derulo.
The Pakistan Super League launches its third edition in Dubai today(Thursday), adding a sixth team, more international stars and with hopesthat the Twenty20 tournament can be staged entirely on home soil from 2019.
The new Multan Sultans and the confirmation of a slew of internationalgreats such as Shane Watson and Brendon McCullum has given a lift to fanseager to forget last-year s spot-fixing scandal.
And the decision to stage the three final matches of the PSL at home, inLahore and Karachi, could pave the way for the entire tournament to bestaged in Pakistan next year.
The Sultans, bought by the Schon Group for $5.2 million — twice the pricetag of the previous most expensive team in the franchise, the Karachi Kings– are coached by legendary Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram and skippered byShoaib Malik.
Pakistan has staged its international fixtures in the United Arab Emiratesin recent years as it grapples with militant violence.
But a dramatic improvement in security saw officials stage the PSL final inLahore last year, its biggest match in nearly a decade, a move whichboosted hopes the cricket-obsessed country could become an internationalvenue once more.
This year two of the three play-offs are planned for Lahore, with the finaldue at the National Stadium in Karachi on March 25.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi said he hopes that in2019 the entire tournament will be played at home.
“That will pave the way for a full series in Pakistan by a top team,” Sethitold AFP, speaking from Dubai ahead of the tournament.
“We are very satisfied that PSL has become an international brand in twoyears.”
Busy schedules mean top foreign players such as England s Eoin Morgan, AlexHales and Jason Roy are only available for part of the tournament as areBangladesh s Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmuddullah Riyadh.
But the presence of stars like Australia s Watson and Chris Lynn, the WestIndies Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo and KieronPollard, and New Zealand s McCullum and Luke Ronchi will lift interest.
Wasim stressed that officials are also eager to seek new talent fromPakistan.
“We found Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali from the first twoeditions of the PSL so the main aim is to hone the talent of localplayers,” he told AFP.
One of the most exciting new players on show will be lanky fast bowlerSalman Irshad, who is set to become the first player fromPakistan-administered Kashmir.
Another fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and batsman Sahibzada Farhan –both from troubled areas of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province –will also be on the radar.
Along with early teething problems, the league was rocked by a spot-fixingscandal last year which ended in five-year bans on Islamabad United openersSharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif.
“We are working with the Anti-Corruption and Safety Unit of theInternational Cricket Council to make sure that strong measures are inplace to stop fixing,” said Sethi.
Also on a trial will be Karachi, the sprawling, chaotic port megacity setto host the final.
With normality returning after decades of ethnic violence, Karachi isrolling out head-of-state level security to stage its first high profilematch in nine years.
The last international fixture played at the National Stadium was betweenPakistan and Sri Lanka in February 2009, just one week before a fatefulmatch in Lahore, where militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus.
The assault left eight people killed and seven visiting players injured,and became the incident which drove international cricket from the country.
But four Twenty20 internationals — three against a World XI comprising ofplayers from seven countries, and one against Sri Lanka — held followingthe PSL final last year have helped restore confidence. -APP / AFP