Inaugural edition of PSL kicks off with impressive show

DUBAI: Renowned Pakistani and international superstars including Ali Zafar, Sean Paul, Mohib Mirza and Sanam Saeed performed at the opening ceremony to kick off the much awaited Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 cricket tournament here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night.

All eyes were on the opening ceremony after the lucrative cricket league had garnered a lot of hype in the national as well as international media.

The inaugural edition of Pakistan Super League will formally start with an encounter between ‘Islamabad United’ and ‘Quetta Gladiators’ later tonight.

Before the ceremony, hip-hop and R&B sensation from Jamaica Sean Paul said he was optimistic about the success of the tournament. He said cricket and music have something in common to entertain people.

“I have strong bond with cricket as I have played cricket in my school days and I wanted to become a fast bowler like Curtly Ambrose. But I am happy what I am today and my job is to entertain people. I hope we are having a very good series called the PSL”.

Pakistani star Ali Zafar also shared his views about the tournament saying, “I am unable to express my happiness that the PSL is going to happen at last. I feel honoured to be part of the project and hope to see a great contest during the series since Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle are here to entertain us with fours and sixes”.

There are five franchises partaking in the cricket league named after each provincial capital and the federal capital of Pakistan. The Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United will compete with each other to lift the trophy.

Geo Super has made special arrangements for the live broadcast of the PSL. Our expert’s panel in Super Eye will give in-depth analyses and viewpoints on the ever-changing game situation and performance evaluation of teams and players.

All franchises have a beautiful mix of foreign and local players. Hence exciting matches are expected especially traditional rivalry between Karachi and Lahore will be the talk of the town throughout the event. 

In Lahore Qalandars, Gayle Storm, Dwyane Bravo, and Kevon Cooper will be in action against their rivals. However, cricket lovers will also witness Sharne Watson, Andrew Russell, Misbah-ul-Haq, Boom Boom Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Kevin Peterson, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umer Gul, Shoaib Malik, Ravi Bopara and many other stars of cricket in different matches.

Former Pakistan cricketers Rameez Raja and Waseem Akram have been named as ambassadors for the PSL.  The 21-day inaugural event is to be regulated by the ICC. The 2016 schedule comprises a double round robin and play offs format. Top four teams will progress to play offs.

The top two teams will play the first qualifier, while the loser of the 1st qualifier and winner of the 2nd playoff will meet in playoff. Winners of play off 1 and 3 will meet in the final. There will be a total of twenty-four matches (day/night) in the tournament. Fifteen Matches, including all three play offs and final will be played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The other nine fixtures will take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.