PSL 2019: Franchises announce their captains for fourth edition

The fourth edition of the event is set to be played from February 14.

Published - 22 Nov 2018, 13:34 IST | Updated - 22 Nov 2018, 13:34 IST

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The prestigious Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been a witness to three editions thus far. The whole of the inaugural edition in 2016 was staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as cricketers from other nations were reluctant to travel to the war-stricken nation. However, the next edition saw the final being hosted by Karachi National Stadium in Pakistan with UAE being the co-host.

Last season, as many as three matches were hosted by Pakistan and all of them were played after the round-robin stage. Islamabad United have won the championship twice in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Peshawar Zalmi won the same in 2017. The fourth edition of the event is set to be played from February 14 and the drafts for the same was staged a couple of days ago in Islamabad.

Teams announce their skippers

The United will be captained by Luke Ronchi, last season’s leading run-scorer for Islamabad. Veteran Misbah-ul-Haq, their previous skipper, has been released. Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand cricketer, bid adieu to Lahore Qalandars and hence Mohammad Hafeez has been appointed to lead the team. The Qalandars have finished as the cellar dwellers in all the three seasons.

Hafeez would be looking to turn their fortunes around. Peshawar Zalmi, last season’s runners-up, have retained Windies all-rounder Darren Sammy as their skipper. Quetta Gladiators have the privilege of having Pakistani wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed as the captain.

The Sixth Team, previously known as Multan Sultans, will be led by all-round cricketer Shoaib Malik. In the meantime. Karachi Kings will be captained by Imad Wasim, the spin-bowling all-rounder. As far as the forthcoming season is concerned, eight matches will be hosted by Pakistan.