PSL 2020 set to start from February 20; PCB announces schedule

The fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to commence on February 20. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the schedule of the upcoming season on Wednesday which will be played until March 22. A total of 34 matches will be played across four cities and for the first time in its history, the whole of PSL will take place in Pakistan.

Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan will host the matches this season. It remains to be seen though how many overseas players visit the country. The recent Sri Lanka series should pave the way though for more foreign players to travel to Pakistan to play in the PSL. As far as the schedule is concerned, the defending champions Quetta Gladiators will face the Islamabad United in the tournament opener after a glittering opening ceremony.

Karachi and Lahore to host the PSL playoffs

After 30 matches in the league stage, Karachi will host the first qualifier to be played on March 17 after which the extravaganza will completely shift to Lahore. The final is scheduled to take place on March 22. The PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani was delighted that the whole PSL will be played in Pakistan finally. He reiterated that he had no doubts about the same after Sri Lanka played a whole tour in the country.

“After bringing Test cricket back to Pakistan, hosting of the entire HBL. Pakistan Super League is our other major achievement. I never had any doubts it was Pakistan’s league and should be played in front of home crowds. We had made this commitment to the people of Pakistan at the end of last year’s event and I am pleased today we have announced the event schedule with four centres to share the 34 event matches between them,” Ehsan Mani said in an official statement.

As far as the distribution of matches to the venues is concerned, the National Stadium in Karachi will play hosts to 9 out of 34 matches. Most number of matches (14) will be played in Lahore while Multan and Rawalpindi will host 3 and 8 matches respectively.

Here’s the schedule: