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The eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is likely to start in the second week of February and will go on till the last week of March. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also zeroed upon the venues for PSL 8, sources close in the know of the developments have revealed. However, none of the six franchises have been consulted by the PCB regarding the developments around the Pakistan T20 League.
A report in The News has claimed that the eighth edition of Pakistan's own T20 League will begin on 15 February 2023 and will go on till 31 March 2023. The Pakistan Cricket Board has finalized the dates after taking Pakistan's international schedule into consideration, sources said. Notably, New Zealand and West Indies are slated to tour Pakistan in January.
The report also claimed that no franchise was involved while making these decisions. “There was no discussion between franchises and the PSL management regarding the schedule but despite that, it was finalised,” the franchises were quoted as saying by the sources.
Venues also finalized for PSL 8
The venues for PSL 8 have also been finalized, the report claimed. Reportedly, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi will be the four host cities for PSL 8. Six franchises, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, and Islamabad United will take part in the tournament. Notably, the seventh edition of the Pakistan T20 League took place in Karachi and Lahore.
Last year, Lahore Qalandars emerged as the champions as they beat Multan Sultans in the summit clash of the tournament. Qalandars' Fakhar Zaman ended the season with the most number of runs (588 runs in 13 matches at 45.23). Shaheen Afridi led the wicket charts as the LQ captain took 20 wickets in 13 games and bowled with an economy rate of 7.57. Quetta Gladiators' Naseem Shah registered the best bowling figures (5/20).