2024 Pakistan Super League


The 2024 Pakistan Super League was the ninth season of the Pakistan Super League. Established by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2015 as a franchise Twenty20 cricket league, it was played between six teams in a double round robin and page playoff system. The matches were held in four cities across Pakistan from 17 February to 18 March 2024.
The Lahore Qalandars, the two-time defending champions, were eliminated in the group stage with last position. In the final, Islamabad United defeated Multan Sultans by 2 wickets, becoming the first team to win a third PSL title. A Sports was the official broadcaster for the season. Babar Azam and Usama Mir respectively achieved the awards for most runs and most wickets, while Shadab Khan was named Player of the Tournament.

Background

As the 2024 Pakistani general election and Ramadan 1445 AH were approaching, the Pakistan Cricket Board was concerned about the tournament. While they were planning to introduce two more teams into the league, they wanted to shift the tournament to the United Arab Emirates. However, the franchise owners opposed these plans citing the financial reasons. There were proposals for the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar to host the matches but these did not succeed due to security issues. On 6 February 2024, Mohsin Raza Naqvi was elected as the PCB chairman, who also took the responsibility to supervise the preparations for the tournament.

Squads

The squads were finalized with the draft in Lahore on 13 December 2023, six days after the franchises announced their retained players. A supplementary and replacement draft took place on 29 January 2024.
Islamabad UnitedKarachi KingsLahore QalandarsMultan SultansPeshawar ZalmiQuetta Gladiators

  • Shan Masood
  • James Vince
  • Kieron Pollard
  • Daniel Sams
  • Mohammad Nawaz
  • Hasan Ali
  • Tim Seifert
  • Shoaib Malik
  • Tabraiz Shamsi
  • Mir Hamza
  • Muhammad Akhlaq
  • Mohammad Amir Khan
  • Anwar Ali
  • Arafat Minhas
  • Irfan Khan
  • Sirajuddin
  • Saad Baig
  • Leus du Plooy
  • Mohammad Rohid
  • Zahid Mahmood
  • Blessing Muzarabani
  • Fawad Ali
  • Imran Tahir
  • Shaheen Afridi
  • Fakhar Zaman
  • Rassie van der Dussen
  • David Wiese
  • Sahibzada Farhan
  • Sikandar Raza
  • Abdullah Shafique
  • Zaman Khan
  • Mirza Tahir Baig
  • Mohammad Imran
  • Ahsan Hafeez
  • Dan Lawrence
  • Jahandad Khan
  • Syed Faridoun
  • Shai Hope
  • Kamran Ghulam
  • Bhanuka Rajapaksa
  • Tayyab Abbas
  • Lorcan Tucker
  • Salman Fayyaz
  • Sikandar Raza
  • Carlos Brathwaite
  • George Linde
  • Sam Billings
  • Mohammad Rizwan
  • David Willey
  • Iftikhar Ahmed
  • Khushdil Shah
  • Usama Mir
  • Dawid Malan
  • Abbas Afridi
  • Reeza Hendricks
  • Tayyab Tahir
  • Shahnawaz Dahani
  • Usman Khan
  • Mohammad Ali
  • Faisal Akram
  • Yasir Khan
  • Chris Jordan
  • Aftab Ibrahim
  • Johnson Charles
  • Mohammad Shehzad
  • Ali Majid
  • Richard Ngarava
  • Babar Azam
  • Rovman Powell
  • Saim Ayub
  • Tom Kohler-Cadmore
  • Asif Ali
  • Mohammad Haris
  • Aamir Jamal
  • Naveen-ul-Haq
  • Khurram Shahzad
  • Salman Irshad
  • Arif Yaqoob
  • Umair Afridi
  • Dan Mousley
  • Haseebullah Khan
  • Mohammad Zeeshan
  • Mehran Mumtaz
  • Luke Wood
  • Waqar Salamkheil
  • Arshad Iqbal
  • Gus Atkinson
  • Shamar Joseph
  • Aimal Khan
  • Paul Walter
  • Hussain Talat
  • Rilee Rossouw
  • Saud Shakeel
  • Sherfane Rutherford
  • Mohammad Amir
  • Mohammad Wasim
  • Jason Roy
  • Mohammad Hasnain
  • Abrar Ahmed
  • Sarfaraz Ahmed
  • Will Smeed
  • Sajjad Ali
  • Usman Qadir
  • Omair Yousuf
  • Adil Naz
  • Khawaja Nafay
  • Akeal Hosein
  • Sohail Khan
  • Laurie Evans
  • Usman Tariq
  • Bismillah Khan
  • Umar Amin
  • Venues

    The PCB announced the venues and fixtures on 12 January 2024. The tournament took place across four cities; Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.

    Match officials

    On 12 February 2024, the PCB announced the list of officials for league stage matches which included 4 members of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

    Umpires

    Referees

    Marketing

    Title anthem

    The season's logo variant was revealed on 8 December 2023 with the nomenclature as HBL PSL 9, or hashtag #HBLPSL9, because HBL Pakistan has been its titular sponsor since the league's first season. The title anthem "Khul Ke Khel" features Ali Zafar and Aima Baig. Opening ceremony was held at Gaddafi stadium on 17 February.

    Trophy

    The season's trophy, named Orion, was unveiled on 13 February 2024 at Polo Ground, Jilani Park, Lahore. It was made by Lahore-based Mahfooz Jewellers.

    Broadcast and media

    Since previous rights concluded after a two-year run, a public merit-based tender for the broadcast and streaming rights was opened on 9 January 2024 for the next two years. ARY Digital Network renewed the broadcast rights with a 45 percent increased bid, and Walee Technologies won the streaming rights with a 113 percent increased bid. While PCB revealed a list of global broadcasters on 16 February, this is the first season which PTV Sports would not broadcast due to not winning the tender.
    Ramiz Raja returned this year among seven commentators from Pakistan, and Michael Clarke debuted among eight international commentators. Zainab Abbas and Erin Holland presented the season.

    Cancer awareness

    The breast cancer awareness day and the childhood cancer awareness day were observed on 5 and 12 March respectively, with the stadiums themed with the pink ribbon and golden ribbon respectively.

    League stage

    Format

    Each team played every other team twice in a double round robin format, with the top four teams in the points table advancing to the playoffs.

    Fixtures

    The PCB announced the fixtures on 12 January 2024.

    Lahore and Multan

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    Karachi and Rawalpindi

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    Playoffs

    Qualifier

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    Eliminators

    Eliminator 1

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    Eliminator 2

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    Awards and statistics

    Most runs

    • Source:

    Most wickets

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    End of season awards

    The winner and the runner-up teams were awarded with crore and crore respectively. Babar Azam and Usama Mir were presented with the Hanif Mohammad and Fazal Mahmood caps respectively with a complete installation of 6kW solar system for each. While Shadab Khan received lakh for being Player of the Tournament, the other awards included lakh cash prizes.
    NameTeamAward
    Shadab KhanIslamabad UnitedPlayer of the Tournament
    Usman KhanMultan SultansBatsman of the tournament
    Usama MirMultan SultansBowler of the tournament
    Saim AyubPeshawar ZalmiAll-rounder of the tournament
    Azam KhanIslamabad UnitedWicket-keeper of the tournament
    Irfan KhanKarachi KingsFielder of the tournament
    Irfan KhanKarachi KingsEmerging player of the tournament
    Asif YaqoobUmpire of the tournament
    Peshawar ZalmiSpirit of cricket

    Team of the tournament

    The team of the tournament was announced soon afterwards, with Shadab Khan as the captain and Mohammad Rizwan as the 12th player.
    Players

    Controversies

    Pro-Palestine remarks

    Since KFC Pakistan was announced as a snack partner for the tournament on 17 February, people started criticizing the PCB, and hashtag #BoycottPSL became a social trending topic due to the original KFC's parent company Yum! Brands' affiliation with Pro-Israeli stances during the Gaza war and genocide. Afterwards, the spectators also complained that they were barred to carry the Pro-Palestinian banners in the stadium.

    Arrests of fans

    In another incident, fans were arrested for chanting slogans in support of Imran Khan during the matches. This was notable because Imran Khan, a former cricketer, former prime minister, and a prominent political leader, was in jail at that time, and referring to him was prohibited on Pakistani television and media.

    DRS error

    Hawk-Eye, the technology used for the Decision Review System in cricket, made a human error during the match between Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United. Inaccurate ball tracking data resulted in incorrect results, causing frustration among players and fans alike.