The sixth season of the Pakistan Super League will begin from 20th February when Karachi Kings will take on Quetta Gladiators at the National Stadium in Karachi. The two teams have previously won the title once each and would be vying for the big prize once again alongside four other teams.
The tournament is going to be a 30-day affair with matches being played at Karachi and Lahore for the entirety. The league stage would go on till 16th March while the Playoffs would begin from 18th.
In the stadiums, 20% crowd would also be allowed for the games. The number might be raised to 30% subsequently, depending upon the situation of the Covid-19 in the country.
"Fans are the PCB's biggest asset and we are delighted that no matter a small number, but some will be able to have access to the matches," board chairman Ehsan Mani was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo "Their presence will add flavour and excitement to one of the biggest and most challenging leagues in the cricket calendar. We understand not everyone will get an opportunity to watch the matches due to the limited number of seats, but these are baby-steps and considering that most of the sport events are being played in empty stadium, this is a positive achievement and a step in the right direction."
Meanwhile, the PCB and NCOC will keep on monitoring the situation and a decision will be taken whether to allow a further 10 per cent after the group stage of the tournament.
"I am optimistic that if we can maintain strict protocols during the PSL 2021 matches we will have a strong case for more fans in the 2021-22 season in which we have to host high-profile international teams such as New Zealand, England and the West Indies as well as quality domestic events, including the National T20 Cup, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Pakistan Cup," Mani said.
Islamabad United has won the most number of titles (two) while Karachi Kings are the defending Champions. Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars are yet to win a league title till now.
Here is a look at all the teams’ squad for the upcoming season.
Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Asif Ali, Colin Munro, Hussain Talat, Musa Khan, Zafar Gohar, Hassan Ali, Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt, Rohail Nazir, Reece Topley, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Akif Javed
Babar Azam, Mohammad Nabi, Amir Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Colin Ingram, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood, Dan Christian, Chadwick Walton, Joe Clarke, Noor Ahmad, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Ilyas, Zeeshan Malik, Qasim Akram
Sohail Akhtar, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk, David Wiese, Dilbar Hussain, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rashid Khan, Joe Denly, Samit Patel, Tom Abell, Zeeshan Ashraf, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Faizan, Maaz Khan, Zaid Alam, Ahmed Danyal
Shahid Afridi, Imran Tahir, Sohail Tanvir, James Vince, Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir, Chris Lynn, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Carlos Brathwaite, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaib Ullah, Adam Lyth, Shahnawaz Dhani, Muhammad Umar, Imran Khan Sr
Haider Ali, Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Liam Livingstone, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ravi Bopara, Sherfane Rutherford, Amad Butt, Umaid Asif, Saqib Mahmood, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Ibrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir Khan
Sarfaraz Ahmed, Chris Gayle, Anwar Ali, Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Zahid Mahmood, Dale Steyn, Tom Banton, Usman Khan Shinwari, Cameron Delport, Qais Ahmad, Abdul Nasir, Saim Ayub, Arish Ali Khan, Usman Khan