Zalmi hope to defend title as HBL PSL-3 begins tonight

DUBAI: Promising to be bigger and better, the third edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) will explode into action here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday evening with defending champions Peshawar Zalmi taking on newcomers Multan Sultans in the tournament opener.

Before the eagerly-anticipated game, a number of stars including Pakistani music icon Abida Parveen and US rapper Jason Derulo will perform at the opening ceremony that is likely to attract a packed weekend crowd at the iconic stadium.

In the match itself, the best and the new of the league will be on display with Zalmi – the most successful PSL team – and new additions Sultans taking centre-stage. Zalmi will want to begin from where they left last year when they steamrolled Quetta Gladiators in a lop-sided PSL final in Lahore.

With the inspirational Darren Sammy at helm, Zalmi have the firepower to go all the way this year as well. They have retained most of the men who lifted the side in 2017 though former captain Shahid Afridi has left them to join Karachi Kings. New signing Dwayne Bravo should bolster Peshawar, who will hoping that players like last year’s highest scorer Kamran Akmal will excel again.

While Zalmi have proved their mettle in the opening two years of PSL, Sultans get their first opportunity after joining the T20 league as the sixth team this year. With two experienced hands – Wasim Akram and Tom Moody – in charge Sultans shouldn’t face many problems in making their presence felt. Captained by the seasoned Shoaib Malik, Sultans have plenty of experience because of players like Kumar Sangakarra, Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir and Junaid Khan. They have Darren Bravo, Imran Tahir, Ahmed Shehzad and the in-form Shan Masood.

Meanwhile, the decision to stage the three final matches of the PSL at home, in Lahore and Karachi, could pave the way for the entire tournament to be staged in Pakistan next year. Pakistan has staged its international fixtures in the United Arab Emirates in recent years as it grapples with militant violence. But a dramatic improvement in security saw officials stage the PSL final in Lahore last year, its biggest match in nearly a decade, a move which boosted hopes the cricket-obsessed country could become an international venue once more.

This year two of the three play-offs are planned for Lahore, with the final due at the National Stadium in Karachi on March 25. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi said he hopes that in 2019 the entire tournament will be played at home.

“That will pave the way for a full series in Pakistan by a top team,” Sethi said.“We are very satisfied that PSL has become an international brand in two years.” Busy schedules mean top foreign players such as England´s Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Jason Roy are only available for part of the tournament as are Bangladesh´s Tamim Iqbal and Mahmuddullah Riyadh.

But the presence of stars like Australia´s Shane Watson and Chris Lynn, the West Indies´ Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, and New Zealand´s Brendon McCullum and Luke Ronchi will lift interest.

Wasim stressed that officials are also eager to seek new talent from Pakistan. “We found Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali from the first two editions of the PSL so the main aim is to hone the talent of local players,” he said.

One of the most exciting new players on show will be lanky fast bowler Salman Irshad, who is set to become the first player from Pakistan-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-fixing scandal last year which ended in five-year bans on Islamabad United openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif.“We are working with the Anti-Corruption and Safety Unit of the International Cricket Council to make sure that strong measures are in place to stop fixing,” said Sethi.

Also on a trial will be Karachi, the sprawling, chaotic port megacity set to host the final. With normality returning after decades of ethnic violence, Karachi is rolling out head-of-state level security to stage its first high profile match in nine years.But before that the six competing teams will be battling it for the last two spots in a series of matches in Dubai, Sharjah and Lahore over the next four weeks.

SQUADS: Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan, Dwayne Bravo, Tamim Iqbal, Hammad Azam, Mohammad Asghar, Saad Nasim, Taimoor Sultan, Sameen Gul, Ibtisam Sheikh, Andre Fletcher, Rikki Wessels, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Arif, Khushdil Shah, Liam Dawson, Umaid Asif.

Multan Sultans: Shoaib Malik (capt), Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakarra, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan, Darren Bravo, Ahmed Shehzad, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Sohaib Maqsood, Irfan Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Nicholas Pooran, Abdullah Shafique, Saif Badar, Hardus Viljoen, Umar Gul, Ross Whiteley, Umar Siddiq, Shan Masood, Thisara Perera. –with inputs from agencies