Pakistan’s indigenous T20 league kicks off
The opening match of the tournament featured Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators
Opening ceremony of PSL
Pakistan became the latest country to launch its own Twenty20 cricket league as the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was kicked off in grand fashion in UAE on Thursday evening.
The league, featuring 69 local and 29 international stars, will see five teams slug it out over 24 matches between February 4-23 at the Dubai and Sharjah stadiums for the coveted title.
Addressing the gala opening ceremony at the packed Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday evening, PSL chairman Najam Sethi said that Pakistanis were passionate about cricket. “[With PSL] we are sending a message that we can play cricket and we can help others play cricket.”
While the first edition would be held completely in the UAE, he promised to bring some of the matches of the second edition to Pakistan while the third edition would be fully hosted at home.
“In PSL, whether a team wins or loses, in the end Pakistan will win.” The tournament was inaugurated by UAE Minister for Culture, Youth and Social Development Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan with Sethi, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan along with captains of all the participating teams and sponsors.
The grand opening ceremony saw a host of local and international singers perform including the likes of Ali Zafar and Sean Paul. During Paul’s electric performance, who sang in English, Lahore Qalandar’s Chris Gayle joined him briefly on stage. In addition to celebrities and cricketers, as many as 146 students of Army Public School (APS) and staff members had been specially flown in to Dubai to attend the inaugural ceremony.
The opening match of the tournament featured Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators. Having won the toss, Quetta put Islamabad into bat first and restricted them to just 128 runs. Quetta managed to chase it in just 16 overs as Luke Wright smashed 86 runs off just 53 balls.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2016.
The league, featuring 69 local and 29 international stars, will see five teams slug it out over 24 matches between February 4-23 at the Dubai and Sharjah stadiums for the coveted title.
Addressing the gala opening ceremony at the packed Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday evening, PSL chairman Najam Sethi said that Pakistanis were passionate about cricket. “[With PSL] we are sending a message that we can play cricket and we can help others play cricket.”
While the first edition would be held completely in the UAE, he promised to bring some of the matches of the second edition to Pakistan while the third edition would be fully hosted at home.
“In PSL, whether a team wins or loses, in the end Pakistan will win.” The tournament was inaugurated by UAE Minister for Culture, Youth and Social Development Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan with Sethi, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan along with captains of all the participating teams and sponsors.
The grand opening ceremony saw a host of local and international singers perform including the likes of Ali Zafar and Sean Paul. During Paul’s electric performance, who sang in English, Lahore Qalandar’s Chris Gayle joined him briefly on stage. In addition to celebrities and cricketers, as many as 146 students of Army Public School (APS) and staff members had been specially flown in to Dubai to attend the inaugural ceremony.
The opening match of the tournament featured Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators. Having won the toss, Quetta put Islamabad into bat first and restricted them to just 128 runs. Quetta managed to chase it in just 16 overs as Luke Wright smashed 86 runs off just 53 balls.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2016.