PSL - Pakistan Super League T20

 

Official Logo PSL

For a long time now, we have heard about the prospects of Pakistan Cricket Board launching it’s own T20 league. On many occasions, these efforts have faced hurdles that have been hard to overcome. This time, things are on track to redefine Pakistan’s cricket!

As the cricketing world prepares itself for the upcoming T20 World Cup in March in India, some of the world’s best cricketers are already arrived in Dubai and Sharjah to play the Pakistan Super League (PSL) starting today. The PSL will go down as Pakistan cricket’s most defining moment.

On December 21^st and 2^nd 2015 the PSL stages a two-day player draft at the National Cricket Academy at Gaddafi Stadium HQ in Lahore. A total of 310 players, 138 of them from Pakistan, go in the pool, spread across five categories. The draft continues for 20 rounds, finalizing 100 picks. Shahid Afridi is the first player drafted, selected by Peshawar Zalmi. Other big picks include Shane Watson to Islamabad United, Chris Gayle to Lahore Qalandars, Kevin Pietersen to Quetta Gladiators and Mohammad Amir to Karachi Kings.

PSL - Foreign Players Platinum Category

Amir’s form has been nothing short of sensational since his return to top-flight cricket. Though he was in the Gold category, he was always going to be one of the most-eagerly awaited picks. Karachi, the most expensive franchise, had a day of underwhelming picks, but grabbing Amir has more than made up for it.

PCB management along with PSL teams captains have officially launched the PSL trophy during a press conference in Dubai.

I am more than delighted to see that top international and local coaches are part of the coach roster. Naturally, this will translate into an immediate improvement in the quality of our cricket. The bigger effect, as you will notice, will be in our domestic cricket at home. Players will now be more eager to perform in other domestic tournaments in a bid to get noticed and that sense of competition will help Pakistan across all formats.

Misbah-Ul-Haq - GoodBye to the Skipper

Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi born on 28 May 1974 at Mianwali, Punjab. He is the current Test and One Day International ODI captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is a solid middle-order batsmen best known for his composure with the bat whilst also having the ability to be an aggressive big shot player when required. He is the top scorer in ODI cricket among those players who haven't scored a century in ODI.

Misbah ul Haq played his ODI against Newzealand on 27th April, 2000. He was initially noticed for his technique and his temperamen.

There is a widely held perception that Pakistan is a team of mercurial match winner who are hot when they are ON and terrible when tjey are OFF but the Captain Misbah Ul Haq is unlike other Pakistan Team Members he has the batting average of 50.80 in Test matches and 43.59 in ODIs.

Misbah - The Skipper

Pakistan team suffered during England tour in 2010 with spot-fixing controversy, Misbah was appointed as full time captain, he was the sixth to hold post in three years since Inzimam Ul Haq retirement. Misbah was preferred over Younus Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal as captain. Wasim Akram stated that although the decision was surprising if Misbah bats and fields well everything else will go according to plan. Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson stated that he believed Misbah has the best cricketing brain within Pakistan and he will do incredibly well in the plans for the captaincy Misbah hit back at those who criticized the decision to appoint him captain and stated that he should be given a chance to prove himself. In his first match as test captain he set an example for his team when he scored 71* in a 168 run partnership with Younus Khan this helped Pakistan salvage a draw from the match. Misbah has led Pakistan in 33 test matches, with the most (15) wins  as Pakistani Captain, losing 9 with 8 draws.

In a recent Test Series with Australia, Pakistan White-washed Australia. Pakistan won the first match in Dubai by 221 runs, which had been their previous record-winning margin in terms of runs against Australia.
The Pakistan captain Misbah-Ul-Haq went on to match the 56-ball century mark set by West Indies legend Viv Richards in 1986.

#GoodByeMisbah this one is for you! pic.twitter.com/NF7VmZojOP
— wkwasikhan (@wkwasikhan) March 20, 2015