Wasim Akram, former Pakistan cricket great, who was leading wicket taker and was team captain now cricket commentator and currently the mentor of Multan Sultans — the new and 6th team in the on-going Pakistan Super League — has termed Pakistan Super League (PSL) one of the biggest cricket brands in the world.
Speaking to the newsmen recently he praised the PSL management for organizing such a professional tournament. “I want to congratulate Najam Sethi, Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board and the entire team and the new foreigner players are very impressed with how the tournament is organized.”
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani first-class cricketer, cricket commentator and television personality. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. A left-arm fast bowler who could bowl with significant pace, he represented the Pakistan cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International (ODI) matches.
Commenting on the Sultans second successive win, Wasim Akram revealed that the team immediately took their strategic time-out at the 11th over of the game against Lahore Qalandars in view of halting the momentum being built through the partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Umar Akmal.
“We wanted to slow down the momentum, and immediately after the strategic timeout luckily for us Umar Akmal got out, Junaid Khan had his hattrick, Muhammad Irfan’s timely spell. Everything is shaping well. But it’s a long tournament, it is too early to say what will happen next.” He added that there is no secret for the Sultans’ successive victories and credited the entire team for the win. “The way the captain led the troops, the way the team responded, and the way Tom Moody (team coach) is handling the boys. All credit to them,” Akram said.
Pakistan Super League 2018 (also known as PSL 3 or for sponsorship reasons, HBL PSL 2018) is the third season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2015. It features six teams, the first expansion of the league since its formation. The group stage is again taking place in the United Arab Emirates, with two playoff matches to be played in Lahore and the final at the National Stadium, Karachi.
The league was founded in Lahore on 8 September 2015 and presently comprises 6 teams. Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, the league is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by investors.
The commercial rights to the initial franchises were sold for US$93 million for a span of 10 years in December 2015. The market value of PSL in 2017 was up to US$300 million.
The PSL season runs between the months of February and March, with each team playing 10 matches in double round robin format; the top 4 teams with the best record qualify for the Playoffs and culminates in the championship game, the PSL Cup Final. The league’s head offices are directed out of the Pakistan Cricket Board head office in Lahore. Due to security reasons, the first season was played entirely in the United Arab Emirates. The inaugural champions were Islamabad United. Peshawar Zalmi were the 2017 PSL Champions, having defeated Quetta Gladiators in Lahore on 5 March 2017.– Agencies