Six teams, eight matches in Pakistan: Sethi tweets about PSL 2018

Dawn.com Published April 8, 2017

Chairman Pakistan Super League (PSL) Najam Sethi on Friday announced the addition of a sixth team to the existing five teams in the cricket tournament's next edition.

He also said the total number of matches in the PSL's next iteration would increase to 34, out of which eight matches, he said, could be held in Pakistan.

Cricket fans have been speculating anxiously about the inclusion of at least one more team in the PSL since the beginning of the league. An overwhelming number of cricket followers replied to Najam Sethi's tweet with the suggestion to have the new team launch under the banner of "Kashmir".

However, against the backdrop of Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) on-going friction with the Indian cricket board, it remains to be seen whether such a suggestion will be taken.

Next year: six teams, 34 matches, will try for up to 8 matches in Pak! Inshallah! https://t.co/FaL81RiNKD
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) April 7, 2017

This year's PSL saw its final match take place at Lahore's Gadaffi stadium. The last match of the tournament, played between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi, ended with Zalmi lifting the championship trophy.

With the inclusion of one more team and an expanded number of fixtures, next year's PSL could be bigger in size and commercial value.

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sultan akram

Apr 08, 2017 06:31pm

GOOD DAY, SIXTH TEAM MUST BE ON NAME OF GILGIT BALTISTAN. we will watch PSL if GB name will consider for sixth team. i hope sethi sab consider my request. thanks

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Ramana Adivishnu

Apr 08, 2017 07:06pm

@sultan akram Smart reply brother...

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NIKHIL

Apr 08, 2017 07:26pm

@sultan akram nailed it bro

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Amir

Apr 08, 2017 11:17pm

Has to be Kashmir. What does that have to do with friction with the BCCI? We can name our teams as we want.

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Jim beam

Apr 09, 2017 12:18am

I wish the very best for PSL 2018. International cricket should return to Pakistan.

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Mani

Apr 09, 2017 12:56am

Kashmir! Would love to see matches in Muzzafarabad.

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Pakistastic

Apr 09, 2017 01:06am

Kashmir defines Pakistan and is definitely more suitable and a fit name by all standard. Let people of Pakistan honour the valiant people of Kashmir given that the letter K in Pakistan stands for Kashmir. The seventh team ideally could be named after Gilgit Baltistan, of course, in due course.

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MURTAZA ali

Apr 09, 2017 01:38am

I think 6th one should be Kashmir......

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optimist

Apr 09, 2017 02:07am

Good job by Najm Sethi but to give flair the regional teams should have maximum regional players if available in the draft. PSL is a good platform to recognize new talents.

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Pakistan NEEDS A BATMAN

Apr 09, 2017 03:14am

Gilgit Baltistan for sure!!

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Hassan Ali

Apr 09, 2017 04:29am

Our dream is to launch 6th Kashmir team in PSL next year.

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Adnan Siddiqui

Apr 09, 2017 05:17am

Love to see Kashmir's team in next PSL ... The name itself will give more Masala to this league which would add its commercial value ...

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YASIR AZIM

Apr 09, 2017 07:26am

Mir pure kashmir is name we can consider and PCB should consider building a new stadium in azad kashmir we never had any blast there so its an excellent idea to play cricket in the valley of kashmir surrounded with green mountains.

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ak4pk

Apr 09, 2017 07:35am

Mr Sethi, play eight of the 34 matches in Pakistan, it's a noble gesture Sir. But have you given a wee thought to the nightmarish and daunting task of providing security for eight of these events when in the last tournament only one such event cost the nation an arm and a leg. Left to you Sir, would you really waste so much of the nations scarce resources on cricket or would you rather spend it on fighting terrorism? I am seriously beginning to ask myself if Sethi has gone off the rails?

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SAmrat

Apr 09, 2017 11:30am

@Amir It has nothing to do with BCCI, there is no chance of any series in the future so name it as you like.

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Mirza

Apr 09, 2017 11:53am

All other PSL teams go by city names, Kashmir is not a city. PCB should be consistent in naming the franchises. There are other cities like Hyderabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot to choose.

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Arif

Apr 09, 2017 03:31pm

Emotions aside ! How should it be " Kashmir " When rest of all the teams are under city names of pakistan ? Kashmir or Gilgit Baltistan names would have made sense when the other names were Punjab Sindh instead Lahore and Karachi x

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Fakhir

Apr 09, 2017 03:33pm

It can be muzaffarabad or Skardu, as we are going for city names in PSL.

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Anuj

Apr 09, 2017 04:20pm

@Adnan Siddiqui lets see if your wishful thinking comes true, in the end its still PSL and investors are reconsidering their investment already.

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Babar

Apr 09, 2017 04:32pm

The sixth team should be a Pakistani City with International stadium. Two more teams with the same criteria can be added later to PSL. Smaller cities team franchises should also be sold and a minor league should be started within Pakistan. The teams winning the minor league should be upgraded to PSL and vise versa.

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HAROON

Apr 10, 2017 02:42am

It has to be Sialkot. That was the plan from the beginning of PSL 2 but the other 5 teams did not agree to adding a 6th team back then as per initial agreements:

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N.M.

Apr 10, 2017 08:19am

8 matches in Pakistan But who will play in Pakistan ? Only West Indian players .

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Waseem Sarwar

Apr 10, 2017 06:33pm

@N.M , lolz. west Indians are usually the biggest attraction of any T20 league. BTW we had people from England, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh? and South Africa as well.

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naveed akram

Apr 10, 2017 07:00pm

Why not choose Srinagar Lions if it has to be named after a city. As we know that there is no prospect of future series between India and Pakistan, so better name it as Srinagar Lions or Srinagar Panthers or any other similar names. I know it is PSL league but we exactly know why it should be named after Srinagar.

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shoaib uddin

Apr 11, 2017 02:11pm

love PSL , love Pakistan but we need team from Gilgit-Baltistan . i hope this desire will knock the think tank of PCB & sethi sahab.

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