Cricket: PSL X: A tournament to remember
The tenth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) ended with a stylish victory by the Lahore Qalandars, with Zimbabwean Test all-rounder Sikandar Raza hitting two boundaries in the final over to achieve the win. Quetta Gladiators, the League’s top team, failed to win their second title, while Lahore Qalandars got their third in four years.
The League completed its 10 years with a boundary on the penultimate ball of the final, what else would one want?
The tenth edition of the PSL X was not all smooth. It did experience some challenges. An unusual scheduling shift, commencing later than its traditional February-March window. This change was mainly due to preparations and scheduling for the Champions Trophy, which required the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to move the tournament to April for the first time.
The new dates meant that PSL X directly overlapped with the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the most high-profile and lucrative T20 tournaments globally. Consequently, several foreign players found themselves in a challenging position. Many cricketers with commitments in both leagues were forced to make tough choices. All things did fall in place at the end, but the main thing was grabbing the limelight from IPL, and it was no mean achievement for PSL.
Six teams competed as in the previous edition, but last year’s runners-up, Multan Sultans, had a disappointing season. Muhammad Rizwan was not up to the mark, despite scoring a century. The team had never gelled as a unit, which affected the performance.
There were several changes in captaincy for other teams. Babar Azam continued to lead Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United remained under the leadership of Shadab Khan, while Shaheen Shah Afridi continued to lead Lahore Qalandars. However, Karachi Kings saw a significant shift, with Australia’s David........
© Dawn Young Magazine
