PSL 2023

Pakistan Super League (PSL), the professional T20 cricket league of Pakistan, is back with a bang this year. Initiated in September 2015, PSL 2023 is the eighth edition of this cricket league and is governed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Similar to all the previous seven PSL editions, this tournament is also based on the double round-robin format. Six teams will play 30 league matches against each other in the tournament and the top four teams will qualify for the playoffs. The tournament will take place in four major cities across the country.

The slogan for this season is ‘Sab Sitaray Humaray’. Hashtags like #HBLPSL8 and #SabSitarayHamaray are being used to increase the popularity of the league on social media among the masses.

Currently, Lahore Qalandars are the defending champions of the league. However, Islamabad United is the most successful team of the 2023 Pakistan Super League edition. Hence, it will be interesting to see how the events will unfold in the PSL 2023 league and who will come out on top.

PSL Winners List From 2016 to 2022

We have compiled together the PSL Winners list from its first-ever season in 2016 to 2022. This PCB-governed franchise cricket league has been held in the UAE and Pakistan. While the first league edition took place in the United Arab Emirates, the following four seasons were held in Pakistan. To date, PSL has been held two times in UAE and five times in Pakistan.

Islamabad United became the first league champions by defeating Quetta Gladiators by six wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. Luck did not favour Quetta Gladiators during the 2nd league edition in 2017 as they lost the final from Peshawar Zalmi at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Islamabad United made a comeback and won the 3rd league edition in 2018 by defeating the then-defending champions Peshawar Zalmi at National Stadium in Karachi. Peshawar Zalmi displayed a spectacular performance in the 4th edition of the league, 2019, as well. Unfortunately, lady luck did not smile upon them in 2019 as they lost to Quetta Gladiators in the finals of the 4th edition of PSL.

While Karachi Kings won the 5th edition of the PSL by defeating Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans defeated Peshawar Zalmi at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi in the 6th edition of the league. On the contrary, Lahore Qalandars defeated the then-defending champions Multan Sultans at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore in the 7th edition of the league.

PSL 2023 Teams & Player List

There were five teams, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators during the first two seasons of the league. The sixth team, Multan Sultans, was introduced after the 2nd edition of the PSL by Schön Properties. However, PCB terminated its right due to payment issues and resold the franchise to the Ali Tareen consortium for 7 years on 20 December 2018.

Truth be told, each team has its fair share of talented players which makes every game worth watching. However, fans are excited to see if Islamabad United or Peshawar Zalmi becomes the league champion this year. It is because while the former is the most successful league’s franchise, the latter is the franchise to play the league’s final maximum number of times.

Islamabad United

• Shadab Khan
• Asif Ali
• Mohammad Wasim Jnr
• Azam Khan
• Faheem Ashraf
• Hasan Ali
• Colin Munro
• Paul Stirling
• Alex Hales
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz
• Fazalhaq Farooqi
• Abrar Ahmed
• Sohaib Maqsood
• Rumman Raees
• Zeeshan Zamir
• Hassan Nawaz
• Moeen Ali
• Mubasir Khan
• Tom Curran
• Zafar Gohar
• Gus Atkinson
• Tymal Mills

Karachi Kings

• Haider Ali
• Imad Wasim
• Mohammad Amir
• Shoaib Malik
• Aamir Yamin
• Mir Hamza
• Sharjeel Khan
• Qasim Akram
• Matthew Wade
• Imran Tahir
• James Vince
• James Fuller
• Andrew Tye
• Tayyab Tahir
• Mohammad Akhlaq
• Muhammad Irfan Khan
• Tabraiz Shamsi
• Mohammad Umar
• Ben Cutting
• Musa Khan
• Faisal Akram

Lahore Qalandars

• Rashid Khan
• Haris Rauf
• Shaheen Shah Afridi
• David Wiese
• Abdullah Shafique
• Harry Brook
• Kamran Ghulam
• Zaman Khan
• Fakhar Zaman
• Hussain Talat
• Sikandar Raza
• Liam Dawson
• Dilbar Hussain
• Mirza Tahir Baig
• Ahmed Danlyal
• Shawaiz Irfan
• Jordan Cox
• Jalat Khan
• Ahsan Bhatti
• Sam Billings
• Shane Dadswell
• Kusal Mendis

Multan Sultans

• Mohammad Rizwan
• Khushdil Shah
• Rilee Rossouw
• Shan Masood
• Shahnawaz Dahani
• Tim David
• Abbas Afridi
• Ihsanullah
• David Miller
• Josh Little
• Akeal Hosein
• Usama Mir
• Usman Khan
• Sameen Gul
• Anwar Ali
• Mohammad Sarwar
• Adil Rashid
• Arafat Minhas
• Kieron Pollard
• Ammad Butt
• Wayne Parnell
• Izharulhaq Naveed

Peshawar Zalmi

• Babar Azam
• Sherfane Rutherford
• Wahab Riaz
• Mohammad Haris
• Aamir Jamal
• Salman Irshad
• Tom-Kohler Cadmore
• Bhanuka Rajapaksa
• Rovman Powell
• Mujeeb ur Rahman
• Danish Aziz
• Arshad Iqbal
• Saim Ayub
• Usman Qadir
• Suifyan Muqeem
• Haseeb Ullah
• Jimmy Neesham
• Khurram Shahzad
• Haris Sohail
• Richard Gleeson

Quetta Gladiators

• Mohammad Nawaz
• Iftikhar Ahmed
• Jason Roy
• Mohammad Hasnain
• Sarfaraz Ahmed
• Naveen ul Haq
• Umar Akmal
• Will Smeed
• Wanindu Hasaranga
• Naseem Shah
• Odean Smith
• Ahsan Ali
• Umaid Asif
• Muhammad Zahid
• Abdul Bangalzai
• Aimal Khan
• Martin Guptill
• Omair Bin Yousuf
• Qais Ahmed
• Saud Shakeel
• Dwaine Pretorius
• Will Jacks
• Nuwan Thushara

PSL 2023 Schedule

The PSL 2023 will start from 13 Feb 2023 and will continue till 19 March 2023. This year’s PSL league will take place in Multan, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi. Moreover, according to the designed schedule, each team will be competing twice against other teams during the league stage of the tournament.

That said, let’s look at the PCB-issued schedule for more details:

PSL 2023 Venues

According to the released details about the eight editions of the Pakistan Super League, PCB announced that matches will take place in Multan, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi during the PSL 2023 season. Lahore and Karachi were the venues in 2022 during the 7th edition of the league as well.

However, the stadium in Peshawar was declared unfit to host any league matches. While the board decided to replace Peshawar’s Arbab Niaz Stadium with Quetta's Bugti Stadium, PCB removed the latter as a venue due to logistical reasons.

As a result, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, having a capacity of 15000 cricket fans, was decided as the 4th venue for the tournament. This decision ensured that the league takes place country-wide in the major cities; thus, providing maximum exposure to the league.

We have mentioned below the complete venue details to ensure every cricket fan has all the possible details about the venues.

PSL FAQs

Where is the PSL 2023 Final?

The PSL 2023 final will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. With a seating capacity of 27000 people, Gaddafi Stadium is the perfect venue for the PSL 2023 final which will take place on Sunday, 19 March 2023.

What are PSL 2023 timings?

The majority of the PSL 2023 matches will take place in the evening at 7pm and 8pm PST. However, a couple of matches of the league are scheduled for 2:00 pm PST.

Where is PSL 2023 Scheduled?

The PSL 2023 is scheduled in Pakistan this year. The 8th edition of the Pakistan Super League is designed to cover the entire country during the league. It will take place in four major cities, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and Multan.

Is PSL Better than IPL?

No, PSL is not better than the IPL at the end of the day. There are multiple reasons for the immense popularity of the IPL compared to the PSL. Prize money, auction money, security, better exposure facilities, and the best available security for a tournament are some of many the reasons why PSL has a long way to go to be even compared, let alone be better, than IPL.

Which team has won the most PSL?

Islamabad United have won the most PSL tournaments to date. They have won two league championships and are considered the best team in the PSL tournament. Perhaps, this is one of the crucial reasons why fans expect Islamabad United to continue their winning streak in the PSL 2023 league edition.