The wait is finally over as the remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six are all set to resume today in Abu Dhabi. The cricketing extravaganza is all set to entertain fans who have been waiting impatiently to watch the rest of the matches on their television screens.
Between February 20 to March 3, only 14 matches of the PSL season were played as the tournament was abruptly postponed due to rising COVID-19 cases.
Two times champions Islamabad United will be up against Lahore Qalandars, the most popular franchise of the tournament. Overall, this will be the 15th match of the PSL6. Meanwhile, all six franchises team will fight hard to win the title of PSL6 in the heat of Abu Dhabi for the next two weeks.
Hurdles during rescheduling the PSL6 matches
On March 4, the decision to put the PSL6 on hold was taken during an emergency meeting, with 20 more matches still left to play in the tournament. From March to early June, there were many difficulties faced by Pakistan Cricket Board. But First PCB worked very hard on rescheduling the sixth edition of PSL6 in Karachi but after a worse situation of COVID 19 cases, all franchise and PCB administration were agreed to play the remaining matches in UAE, which is finally slated to resume today.
Points Table
Defending champions Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi both have three wins out of five matches and are currently on the top of the points table; both teams have better run-rate. The two times champions, Islamabad United are at third place while last year’s runner-up Lahore Qalandars is in fourth place with six points having played four matches each. Whichever wins today’s crucial match, will be on top of the points table. Multan Sultans are on fifth and Quetta Gladiators are at the bottom.
Mini Drafts
Two mini replacement drafts were conducted for all six teams to complete their squad ahead of the second leg in Abu Dhabi. The first mini replacement draft was held on April 27 with franchises signing foreign cricketers available in June.
The second mini-draft was conducted on May 22. West Indian star cricketer Andre Russell, kiwi cricketer Martin Guptill, and Australian Cricketer Usman Khawaja, Shimron Hetmyer, and Johnson Charles are other major picks in different teams while Afghan spinner Rashid Khan rejoined Lahore Qalandars.
International players out of original squads
• Islamabad United – Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt
• Karachi Kings – Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Joe Clarke
• Lahore Qalandars – David Wiese, Joe Denly, Tom Abell, Samit Patel
• Multan Sultans – Chris Lynn, James Vince, Adam Lyth, Carlos Brathwaite
• Peshawar Zalmi – Mujeeb ur Rahman, Liam Livingstone, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Ravi Bopara, Saqib Mahmood
• Quetta Gladiators – Tom Banton, Dale Steyn, Ben Cutting
Overseas players coming in for Abu Dhabi leg
• Islamabad United – Usman Khawaja
• Karachi Kings – Martin Guptill, Najeebullah Zadran, Thisara Perera
• Lahore Qalandars – James Faulkner, Tim David, Callum Ferguson, Seekuge Prasanna
• Multan Sultans – Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Obed McCoy
• Peshawar Zalmi – Fabian Allen, Rovman Powell, Fidel Edwards
• Quetta Gladiators – Andre Russell, Jack Wildermuth, Jake Weatherald, Zahir Khan
Updated Squads
Islamabad United
Shadab Khan (c), Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Asif Ali, Brendon King, Colin Munro, Fawad Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Akhlaq, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Umer Amin, Usman Khawaja, Zafar Gohar and Zeeshan Zameer
Karachi Kings
Imad Wasim (c), Abbas Afridi, Amir Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Babar Azam, Chadwick Walton, Danish Aziz, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Haris, Thisara Perera, Najeebullah Zadran, Noor Ahmed, Qasim Akram, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood and Zeeshan Malik.
Lahore Qalandars
Sohail Akhtar (c), Ahmed Danyal, Ben Dunk, Callum Ferguson, Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, James Faulkner, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Seekuge Prasanna, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sultan Ahmed, Tim David, Zaid Alam and Zeeshan Ashraf.
Multan Sultans
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Asif Afridi, Hammad Azam, Imran Tahir, Imran Khan Snr, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Umar, Obed McCoy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rilee Rossouw, Shahnawaz Dhani, Shan Masood, Shimron Hetmyer , Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir and Muhammad Waseem.
Peshawar Zalmi
Wahab Riaz (c), Abrar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Bismillah Khan, David Miller ,Fabian Allen ,Fidel Edwards ,Haider Ali, Hazratullah Zazai, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Irfan Snr, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Rovman Powell, Waqar Salamkheil, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik, and Umaid Asif
Quetta Gladiators
Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Abdul Nasir, Andre Russell, Anwar Ali, Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan, Cameron Delport, Faf du Plessis, Hassan Khan, Jack Wildermuth, Jake Weatherald, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Usman Shinwari, Zahid Mahmood and Zahir Khan
