Pakistan Super League Introduction
It won’t be a mistake to call Pakistan Super League the most popular T20 cricket league in Pakistan. And you would be surprised to know that the league started just recently (in 2016 to be exact). Two legendary Pakistani cricketers Rameez Raza and Wasim Akram promoted the league initially.
An initial couple of seasons had only five teams. The league unlike the IPL makes use of the draft system instead of player auctions. Its market value was more than three hundred million US dollars in 2017 and is growing continuously with every passing year. The sixth team of the league was added in 2016 in the form of Multan Sultans.
Fun fact: Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag is also known as the Sultan of Multan.
Format of Pakistan Super League
The PSL follows a double round-robin tournament format which means that each team gets to face the other twice in the league phase before the play-offs are played to decide on the finalists. Hence, 30 matches are played before the playoffs. We would like to explain the calculations as well.
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Teams which they are going to face individually | 5 |
| Hence, the total number of matches (without playoffs and final) | 6*5 = 30 |
Note: If PSL were to be a just a round-robin tournament, then we would have to divide this result by two since we would want to avoid repeated matches against the same team.
Notable Players
Some of the notable PSL players are as follows.
| Player Name | Team |
| Mohammed Amir | Karachi Kings |
| Wahab Riaz | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Hasan Ali | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Shahid Afridi | Multan Sultans |
| Darren Sammy | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Kieron Pollard | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Asif Ali | Islamabad United |
| Babar Azam | Karachi Kings |
| Jason Roy | Quetta Gladiators |
| Shane Watson | Quetta Gladiators |
Winners of Pakistan Super League (2016-2020)
In this table, we would be discussing the winners of the various editions of the PSL (Pakistan Premier League).
| Season | Winner | Performance of winning team in the particular season |
| 2020 | Karachi Kings | They won 5 matches and lost 4 in the league matches and were 2nd on the points table. They defeated Multan Sultans in the playoff match and made it to the finals. There they decimated Lahore Qalandars and became champions for the first time. |
| 2019 | Quetta Gladiators | The finished second on the points table in the league matches with 3 losses and 7 wins. The beat the Peshawar Zalmi in playoffs and the went on to defeat them again in the finals. This was their first title. |
| 2018 | Islamabad United | They secured the first position in the matches before the playoffs and they routed Karachi Kings in the playoffs to make it to the finals where they faced Peshawar Zalmi only to win over them to win the PSL title for the record second time. |
| 2017 | Peshawar Zalmi | Their excellent performance in the league stage made them the undisputed leader in the points table. The did get beaten in the first league match by Quetta Gladiators but made a comeback by beating Karachi Kings in the eliminator where they had to face Quetta Gladiators again. This time they beat them in style and secured their first title. |
| 2016 | Islamabad United | Their performance in the league stage wasn’t that great as they has finished third with 4 wins and 4 losses. They defeated Karachi Kings in playoffs along with Peshawar Zalmi to reach the finals where they came face to face with Quetta Gladiators and beat them to become the champions of the inaugural season. |
Pakistan Super League Records (2016-2020)
| Record | Record Holder |
| Most matches played by a player | Kamran Akmal |
| Most matches while leading as captain | Sarfraz Ahmed |
| Maximum number of ducks | Kamran Akmal |
| Biggest ever partnership | Liam Livingstone and Babar Azam |
| Most centuries | Kamran Akmal |
| Most catches | Mohammed Nawaz |
| Most runs given by a bowler in an inning | Shahid Afridi |
| The best economy rate of a bowler | Sunil Narine |
| Best Bowling performance in a match | Ravi Bopara |
| Highest wickets taken by a bowler in a season | Hasan Ali |
| Most wickets taken in the league | Wahab Riaz |
| Highest strike rate | Chris Lynn |
| Fastest 50 | Asif Ali & Kamran Akmal |
| Fastest 100 | Rilee Rossouw |
| Maximum number of 6’s in a given inning | Ben Dunk |
| Most sixes in PSL | Shane Watson |
| Highest score by a batsman | Collin Ingram |
| Maximum number of runs | Kamran Akmal |
| Lowest Team total | Lahore Qalandars |
| Highest Team total | Islamabad United |
Do you know about any more records which we might have missed which are related to the PSL? Then do consider dropping them in the comments section and we will include them once we verify them.
Owners of PSL teams
| Team Name | Owner |
| Quetta Gladiators | Omar Associates |
| Peshawar Zalmi | Javed Afridi |
| Multan Sultans | Alamgir K Tareen & Ali K Tareen |
| Lahore Qalandars | Qatar Lubricants Co. |
| Karachi Kings | ARY Group |
| Islamabad United | Leonine Global Sports |
All of these owners are private entities and most of them are businesses or CEOs of businesses. New teams might be added in later seasons as per the choice of the PCB.
Controversies related to PSL
PSL like any other cricket T20 league has had its fair share of controversies. We would like to shed some light on a few of them.
- In match fight between Ahmed Shehzad and Wahab Riaz
They clashed with each other in a match between their respective teams in the 2016 edition of the Pakistan Premier League. The action was taken against them by the PCB and both were fined heavily for their disorderly conduct.
- Many Pakistani cricketing legends weren’t invited to the opening ceremony
This was perhaps the most painful thing which these ex-Pakistani cricketers might have witnessed in their lifetime. They were the ones who did the most for the sport while representing their country and they were sidelined for whatever reasons.
- Players backing out of playing in Lahore
In the 2017 final of the league which was held in Lahore, many foreign cricketers backed out of the game since they were concerned about their security. Imran Khan was reportedly unhappy about this and even stated about the same.
- Spot-fixing scandal
Half a dozen players were banned by the Pakistani board for fixing matches in 2017. This was a blot on the tournament as a whole. The case was of sot fixing which is mostly done in T20 cricket.
So, these were some of the controversies which surrounded the PSL since it started. Hopefully, players will try their best to not get into things which can be avoided. Although, their decisions regarding their safety have to be respected by the PSL fans.
Future of PSL
The future of PSL looks bright as cricket is a popular sport in Pakistan since it was once a part of the British empire. Hopefully, the Pakistani cricket team will get hold of some young talent to which PSL is indeed a great platform. Although, some old players which are well-known will be retiring soon.
As for now, fans are looking forward to PSL 2021.
Performance of teams in league matches which have won PSL in different Seasons
This is important to understand to see their performance in the league matches. You can also see how teams which finished first in the league stage weren’t able to win the league in the particular season.
Season |
Karachi Kings |
Quetta Gladiators |
Peshawar Zalmi |
Islamabad United |
| 2020 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| 2019 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2017 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2016 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
