Karachi among four cities ‘likely to host PSL 9 fixtures’

The matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 will be held in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, Geo Super reported citing well-informed sources on Sunday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly finalised the cities to host the much-awaited league, where more than 450 overseas and many home-grown players will be showcasing their talents.

According to the proposed schedule by the national cricketing body, the first match of the ninth edition of PSL would take place in Lahore on February 19. However, an objection has been raised by the franchises that the cold weather and the possible fog situation may make it difficult for the teams to stay, train, and play there.

Peshawar Zalmi continues to press PCB to add Peshawar to its venue list, while consistently assuring the cricketing body that the remaining work on the stadium will be finished within two months.

Despite their reassurances, the PCB has not yet made any decision on the inclusion of the city in their list of host cities.

Another matter was being raised by the franchises regarding the proposed venue, Karachi, for the final on March 19. The teams fear that the crowd may not show up at their full capacity at the National Stadium in Karachi, which could affect the ticket revenue.

Multan Sultans, the winners of the PSL 2021, suggested a possible solution to this concern by offering to host the final at the Multan Cricket Stadium. They also expressed confidence that they will be able to attract enough audience to fill the ground.

It is worth mentioning that the PCB intends to announce the official schedule on December 13, the same date as for the PSL 9 Draft. 

The cricket body released the list of all the retained players by all six franchises on Thursday, and many big and important names were not kept by their franchises.

Islamabad had the first pick in Platinum, which they traded with Quetta in exchange for in-demand pacer Naseem Shah, along with two players, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim Junior.

Quetta then continued the trade process and brought back Rilee Russouw in a swap deal with the Multan where Iftikhar Ahmed, along with the first pick in Platinum, went to the 2021 champions.

Multan now has the first pick in the Platinum round as well as Silver.