2018 Pakistan Super League schedule unveiled

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the schedule of the 2018 HBL-Pakistan Super League T20 tournament that will be played at two venues each in the UAE and Pakistan from Feb 22 to March 25.

While the number of matches in next year’s PSL have been increased to 34 from 24, the contest will now feature six franchise teams after the addition of Multan Sultans for the first time.

In other development, though the PCB has not finally confirmed Lahore and Karachi as venues for the two play-offs and the final, respectively, if the programme goes according to the plan it will be the first time that three PSL matches will be staged in Pakistan.

Three matches, including March 25 final, likely to be staged in Pakistan

In the 2017 PSL, only the final was held at the Gaddafi Stadium while this time the number of matches to be organised in Pakistan have been increased to three.

However, a press release issued by the PCB only states that it will try to organise three games of the 2018 edition in the country.

“All the league games along with the first play-off are scheduled to take place in the Dubai and Sharjah. Efforts are underway to stage two play-off games in Lahore followed by what would be a historic HBL PSL final in Karachi,” read the PCB press release issued on Thursday.

Defending champions Peshawar Zalmi will take on debutants Multan Sultans in the opening match of the 2018 PSL in Dubai soon after the opening ceremony at the same venue on Feb 22.

“[Participating] teams will play twice against each other before the top four teams qualify for the play-off stage. Fans will get a chance to see their favourite stars in a total of 34 games played across four venues,” added the PCB news release.

Meanwhile commenting on the PSL, PCB chairman Najam Sethi said: “HBL Pakistan Super League has grown to become a great platform for us to showcase Pakistani cricketing talent across the world. I am confident that fans will come to the stadiums in great numbers and that they will tune into our high quality PSL broadcast on TV and digital platforms.”

PSL 2018 schedule:

Matches in Dubai:

Feb 22: Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans

Feb 23: Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators, Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars

Feb 24: Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars

Feb 25: Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United, Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi

Feb 26: Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars

Matches in Sharjah:

Feb 28: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators

March 1: Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi

March 2: Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United

March 3: Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars