Pakistan’s most successful Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq also became the first to win the Pakistan Super League (PSL) crown when Islamabad United beat Quetta Gladiators in Dubai.

It was a surprise victory for Islamabad as they lost four out of eight in the round matches. They bounced back and won the last three games, including the final.

On the contrary, the two most expensive teams, Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars, failed miserably in the league matches.

The Karachi franchise was sold to a local media group for $26 million for a ten-year period, making it the most expensive team in the tournament. But the performance of Shoaib and company remained pathetic and they managed to win only two matches, both against Lahore Qalandars.

The PSL was first proposed in 2007 during former PCB Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf’s tenure just after the launch the Indian Premier League (IPL).

After the success of Indian Premier League (IPL), many cricketing nations started their own leagues, like Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Sri Lankan Premier League (SPL), Australian Big Bash League (BBL) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in the West Indies, but no league matched the IPL success.

Five teams participated in PSL’s inaugural edition. Each franchise consisted of a total of 16 players, including five foreign players and at least two emerging players.

India has not allowed Pakistani players in the IPL but this is not a matter of concern anymore as we have our own league that will come to Pakistan soon.

One of the positive aspects of PSL was that it gave Pakistani players the chance to share dressing rooms with renowned international players and gain valuable experience.

Local boys also gained financial incentives that they had never achieved from domestic cricket. Besides, the experience of the Pakistan Super League must help Pakistani players in the ongoing Asia Cup and next month’s World Twenty20 in India.

The first edition of the PSL found a potential future captain of Pakistan cricket in Sarfraz Ahmed, who led one of the finalists, Quetta Gladiators. The 28-year-old Sarfraz was the least experienced of the five captains, but he smartly used his players and despite being considered a low-profile team, his team ran to the final.

Some local players showed their talent in the league and got selectors’ attention for national team’s assignments, Peshawar’s spinner Mohammad Asghar, Rumman Raees of Islamabad and Quetta’s Mohammad Nawaz in particular. The latter two earned themselves spots in Pakistan’s World T20 squad.

Opener Sharjeel Khan played T20 International for Pakistan in December 2013 against Sri Lanka in which he scored 50 runs. After that due to unknown reasons, he was never considered for national Twenty20 squad.

Fast bowler Mohammad Sami played a vital role in Islamabad’s success, especially in the 2nd Qualifying Final against Karachi Kings. He received Man-of-the-Match award for his outstanding performance of five wickets for just eight runs.

Karachi Kings fast bowler Mohammad Amir recorded a hat-trick in his first PSL game against Lahore Qalandars. Amir made his international comeback against New Zealand, recently but according to head coach Waqar Younis Amir was not at his best in New Zealand. But in Karach’s first match he hit Dwayne Bravo’s middle stump, had Zohaib Khan caught behind, and trapped Kevon Cooper lbw off successive deliveries in the 19th over.

Umar Akmal of Lahore Qalandars topped the tournament run chart with 335 runs in seven matches at a high strike rate of 157.27, averaging 83.75. He scored four half centuries in seven matches, including three unbeaten fifties in a row.

Other leading batsmen of the PSL were Karachi’s Ravi Bopara (329), Islamabad’s Sharjeel Khan (299) and Ahmed Shehzad of Quetta (290).

On the bowling side, Islamabad’s Andre Russell took the most wickets, 16 at 17.25. Peshawar’s Wahab Riaz (15) young Mohammad Nawaz of Quetta (13) and veteran Mohammad Sami of Islamabad (12) were the other major wicket-takers.