PSL 2017 Schedule, Squads of all teams and prize money

The 2017 edition of the Pakistan Super League is set to get underway today (9 February) and cricket fans are all set for a month-long extravaganza. This year’s competition features the same five teams as the last edition, with three of them (Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi) opting for a new captain.

Misbah-ul-Haq’s Islamabad United will look to defend the crown that they won last year. This year is also the first time a Pakistani venue will host a PSL match as Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium is all set to host the finals on March 7.

This year’s tournament will see $1.5 million (Virat Kohli alone gets $2.26 million for playing in the IPL) being awarded to the winners, and there will be separate awards for the runners-up as well as several other individual awards. Green and maroon caps will be handed out to the best batsman and the best bowler in the tournament, respectively. The two caps of honour will also endorse the Edhi foundation in memory of late Pakistani philanthropist, ascetic and humanitarian, Abdul Sattar Edhi, who passed away last year.

The best batsman of the tournament will get the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, while the best bowler and the best wicket-keeper will get the Fazal Mahmood Trophy and Imtiaz Trophy, respectively.

Let us take a look at some of the important points that you need to know going into the tournament.

Number of teams: 5

Number of matches: 24

Venues: Dubai, Sharjah, Lahore

Telecast: Unfortunately for the Indian audience, the tournament will not be telecast in the country. But, the matches can be streamed on www.cricketgateway.com.

Prize money:

Stage

Prize money

Winners

$700,000

Runners-up

$350,000

Individual award winners

$400,000

Schedule

Brendon McCullum, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kumar Sangakkara unveil the Hanif Mohammad Trophy

The opening ceremony will take place on the 9th of February just before the start of the first match. The gala event will feature renowned international stars like Shaggy, Ali Zafar, Shehzad Roy and Fahad Mustafa.

Match no.

Date

Match

Venue

Time in IST

1

9 February

Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi

Dubai

9:30 PM

2

10 February

Lahore Qalandars v Quetta Gladiators

Dubai

5:00 PM

3

10 February

Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi

Dubai

9:30 PM

4

11 February

Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars

Dubai

5:00 PM

5

11 February

Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings

Dubai

9:30 PM

6

12 February

Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars

Dubai

9: 30 PM

7

15 February

Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators

Dubai

9:30 PM

8

16 February

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings

Sharjah

9:30 PM

9

17 February

Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators

Sharjah

5:00 PM

10

17 February

Islamabad United v Karachi Kings

Sharjah

9:30 PM

11

18 February

Quetta Gladiators v Lahore Qalandars

Sharjah

5:00 PM

12

18 February

Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi

Sharjah

9:30 PM

13

19 February

Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings

Sharjah

9:30 PM

14

20 February

Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United

Sharjah

9:30 PM

15

23 February

Karachi Kings v Quetta Gladiators

Dubai

9:30 PM

16

24 February

Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars

Dubai

5:00 PM

17

24 February

Quetta Gladiators v Islamabad United

Dubai

9:30 PM

18

25 February

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings

Dubai

5:00 PM

19

25 February

Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators

Dubai

9:30 PM

20

26 February

Karachi Kings v Islamabad United

Dubai

9:30 PM

21

28 February

Playoff 1 (1st v 2nd)

Sharjah

9:30 PM

22

1 March

Playoff 2 (3rd v 4th)

Sharjah

9:30 PM

23

3 March

Playoff 3 (Playoff 2 winner v Playoff 1 loser)

Dubai

9:30 PM

24

7 March

Finals (Playoff 1 winner v Playoff 3 winner)

Lahore

5: 30 PM

Islamabad United

The defending champions, Islamabad United

The defending champions have everything that a team needs, to go all the way in the T20 tournament. Their explosive batting order features the likes of Sharjeel Khan and Shane Watson opening the batting, with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, Dwayne Smith, Sam Billings and Khalid Latif following them.

Their bowling department, spearheaded by the Pakistani duo of Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Sami, is equally strong. They also have the luxury of two of the best spinners in this format, Saeed Ajmal and Samuel Badree, with all-rounder, Shane Watson, completing the fifth bowler’s quota.

They will miss the services of their West Indian starlet, Andre Russell, who was banned for one year over a doping whereabouts violation. England pacer Steven Finn was named as his replacement.

Squad:

Local players: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Zohaib Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Amad Butt, Imran Khalid.

Overseas players: Steven Finn, Samuel Badree, Ben Duckett, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Dwayne Smith, Shane Watson.

Peshawar Zalmi

Can Sammy lead Peshawar Zalmi to victory?

The Darren Sammy-led side is my pick to go all the way and win the 2017 PSL as they have the most balanced squad going into the tournament. But, knowing the T20 format, it is very difficult to pick a favourite.

Their Bangladeshi imports, Shakib-al-Hasan and Tamim Iqbal won't be available for the first three matches as they are currently playing a one-off Test match in India and are likely to join the squad before their fourth match. Still, they have depth in their team and the absence of the Bangla duo won't affect their chances in the tournament.

Their batting features Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Haris Sohail and a lot more. while Pakistan's Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali complete their bowling department.

The presence of two quality all-rounders in Darren Sammy and Shahid Afridi, will provide balance to the Peshawar Zalmi and things will only get better with the arrival of Shakib.

Squad:

Local players: Sohaib Maqsood, Ifthikar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asghar, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Ali, Hasan Ali, Irfan Khan.

Overseas players: Darren Sammy (captain), Chris Jordan, Samit Patel, Andre Fletcher, Shakib-al-Hasan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Marlon Samuels, Tamim Iqbal.

Karachi Kings

Kings traded out fast bowler Sohail Tanvir and obtained the services of West Indian batsman Chris Gayle

Karachi Kings have a formidable batting line-up and have the most experienced T20 squad going into the PSL. Ahead of the 2017 edition, the franchise traded out fast bowler Sohail Tanvir and got the services of West Indian batsman Chris Gayle in return.

Gayle and Shahzaib Hasan at the top of the order, followed by skipper Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Shoaib Malik, and Kieron Pollard makes for a strong batting line-up in any T20 league.

Ravi Bopara, who had a great 2016 PSL, is expected to a regular in the Kings’ playing XI, as he is someone who can contribute to the team’s cause in all the three departments. Their bowling revolves around left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim.

Sangakkara will expect Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali to back Amir and in Bopara and Pollard, they have two good all-rounders who are well suited for this format.

Squad:

Local players: Babar Azam, Shahzaib Hasan, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Kashif Bhatti, Imad Wasim, Amad Alam, Saifullah Bangash, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Usama Mir, Abrar Ahmed, Abdul Ameer.

Overseas players: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Ravi Bopara, Kieron Pollard, Ryan McLaren, Mahela Jayawardene, Chris Gayle.

Quetta Gladiators

The addition of England pacer Tymal Mills will surely strengthen their bowling

The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side will look to their top-order batsmen to inflict a majority of the damage in this year’s PSL. Their heroes from the 2016 season, Luke Wright and Kevin Pietersen, will look to deliver for the team once again, while opener Ahmed Shehzad will look to impress the selectors and get back into the Pakistani squad for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

Sarfaraz showed that he is a worthy captain when he led Quetta to the finals in the 2016 edition, and the wicketkeeper-batsman will hope that his team can go a step further in this year’s edition.

The addition of England pacer Tymal Mills will surely strengthen a bowling attack that already has Pakistan’s best T20 pacer, Umar Gul, Mohammad Nawaz, Thisara Perera and Zulfiqar Babar.

Squad:

Local players: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Saad Nasim, Umar Amin, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Bismillah Khan, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Mir Hamza, Hasan Khan, Noor Wali.

Overseas players: Nathan McCullum, Tymal Mills, Mahmudullah, Thisara Perera, Luke Wright, Rilee Rossouw, Kevin Pietersen.

Lahore Qalandars

Being an inspirational skipper, McCullum will look to take the team to the finals

Lahore Qalandars, who finished at the bottom of the table in the 2016 edition, will go into the tournament as the underdogs. They don’t look strong on paper, however, they do have the ability to surprise oppositions every now and then.

They made 14 changes to their squad and have released the likes Chris Gayle, and middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood.

In spite of Gayle’s absence, their top-order looks solid with the presence of skipper Brendon McCullum, who took over the captaincy reins from Azhar Ali, and explosive England opener Jason Roy. A lot depends on how these two bat, as their middle-order containing Umar Akmal, Grant Elliot, James Franklin and Cameron Delport looks fragile.

In the bowling front, Chris Gayle’s replacement, Sohail Tanvir, and Yasir Shah are expected to share the wicket-taking burden. Being an inspirational skipper, McCullum will look to take the team to the finals.

Squad:

Local players: Saif Badar, Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Bilawal Bhatti, Usman Qadir, Sohail Tanvir, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Rizwan, Umar Akmal, Ghulam Mudassar, Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Irfan.

Overseas players: Brendon McCullum (captain), Sunil Narine, Grant Elliot, James Franklin, Anton Devcich, Cameron Delport, Jason Roy, Chris Green.