The seventh edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) has begun. The first phase of the ongoing league is being played in Karachi.The second stage will start at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from February 10. The playoffs begin from February 23, while the final will be played on February 27.

After Indian Premier League, PSL is the most competitive and well-organised league in the world. It is better than Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The Pakistani league has given us players like Hassan Ali, Imad Waseem, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, and Shahnawaz Dahani.

On December 30, 2021, NCOC made a disappointing announcement that only fully vaccinated people over 12 years of age will be allowed to enter the stadium to watch the game.

The first edition comprised five teams and all matches were played in the UAE. It was won by Islamabad United who beat Quetta Gladiators by six wickets.

The second edition was again played in the UAE, but the PCB efforts made it possible that elimination matches and the final were played in Lahore and Karachi. The final was won by Peshawar Zalmi. Quetta Gladiators remained unfortunate again in the final.

The third edition was won by Islamabad United who beat Peshawar by three wickets in Karachi.

The fourth edition of PSL was won by Quetta who beat Peshawar by eight wickets.

In 2020 finally Karachi Kings won their first PSL title by beating arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars by five wickets.

The sixth edition of PSL was won by newest side Multan Sultans who beat Peshawar Zalmi in the final by 47 runs.

Last year, Multan Sultan appointed wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan as their captain in place of Shan Masood. Rizwan was previously part of the Karachi Kings, the defending PSL champions, but was picked up by the Multan team in the PSL 2021 draft. He parted ways with the Kings because he used to sit on the bench and hardly got a suitable batting number. He used to be sent to bat at number six to eight.

But since he started batting as an opener, Rizwan not only proved his batting skills but won the PSL title for his team on his debut as skipper.

In the early stage of the ongoing PSL, two openers, Fakhar Zaman of Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultan's Shan Masood are the most successful batsmen of the league with 248 and 240 runs in three and four matches, respectively.

Openers Mohammad Rizwan and Shaan Masood are in good form and played vital role in Sultan's success in the first four matches.

On the bowling side, surprisingly Multan Sultan's all-rounder Khushdil Shah has taken 9 wickets in four matches.

On the other hand, Karachi Kings under new captain Babar Azam surprisingly lost their first three matches. But they have time to bounce back in their remaining seven matches.

Karachi Kings' performance in the first four seasons wasn't great. They qualified for the play-offs every time, but never made it to the final. In the fifth attempt Karachi finally won the title.

But in the last edition, Karachi King were knocked out from the T20 league after a five-wicket defeat against Peshawar Zalmi in the first Eliminator.

In six editions of PSL Lahore Qalandars remained unfortunate as they failed to lift the title so far. In the first four PSL editions, they finished last. In the fifth, Lahore made the playoffs for the first time.

Last year, Qalandars looked in great form as they won five of their first six games in Karachi and became one of the favourites for the title. But when the league resumed in Abu Dhabi they lost the momentum and lost all four matches and finished fifth.

Pakistani domestic cricketers are some of the lowest paid professional cricketers in the world. The money offered in PSL motivates the youngsters to work harder as they hope to get signed by PSL franchises.

In the past the only way for local cricketers to be financially secure was to get a place in the international team, which of course only a few can manage.

Besides the attraction of financial rewards, it is the manner in which foreign players are treated here which makes them prefer Pakistan Super League over other leagues taking place in the same months.

One of the positive aspects of PSL is that it gives the Pakistani players the chance to share dressing rooms with renowned international players and gain valuable experience.

Thanks to PSL, our young cricketers now go into the international cricket sphere having played under pressure, and thus they are familiar with strong opponents. As the league is expanding, it will give more emerging players an opportunity to play with senior players.

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