KARACHI – The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 will resume in Karachi this weekend following a nine-month gap between its league phase and the playoffs.
The tournament was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic back in March exactly when play-offs were to begin. Now the remanining matches include two qualifiers, an eliminator, and the grand final.
HBL PSL 2020 playoffs schedule (all matches at National Stadium, Karachi):
Fixtures
Saturday, November 14: Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings – Qualifier (3pm PKT, 10am GMT)
Saturday, November 14: Lahore Qalandars v Peshawar Zalmi – Eliminator (8pm PKT, 3pm GMT)
November 15: Loser of Qualifier v Winner of Eliminator (8pm PKT, 3pm GMT)
November 17: Final (8pm PKT, 3pm GMT)
Squads
https://twitter.com/TheHBLPSL/status/1324039966268207106
Broadcast
The matches will be available to watch live on YouTube.
Umpires
Aleem Dar, who holds the record for officiating the most number of Tests and ODIs, and Michael Gough will take the field as on-field umpires at a floodlit National Stadium for the final of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020.
Members of ICC International Panel of Umpires Ahsan Raza, who became the first match official to reach the milestone of 50 T20Is as an on-field umpire, and Rashid Riaz will take the responsibilities of the third umpire and the fourth umpire, respectively.
Match referee Mohammad Anees, member of PCB’s Elite Panel for Match Referees, will lead the playing control team for the much-anticipated contest.
Aleem, who holds the distinction of officiating the most number of HBL PSL matches (42), will be in action as on-field umpire in the Eliminator 1 and Eliminator 2 on 14 and 15 November.
For Eliminator 1 between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, he will be joined by Shozab Raza, with Ahsan as the third umpire and Faisal Khan Afridi as the fourth umpire in a team that will be led by match referee Prof. Javed Malik.
Before the final, Aleem and Michael Gough, the members of ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, will perform the on-field duties together in Eliminator 2, which will be contested between the losing team from the Qualifier and winning team of the Eliminator 1.
Match referee Mohammad Anees will lead the playing control team in a match which will have Shozab Raza as third and Asif Yaqoob as fourth umpire.
For the Qualifier on 14 November between the top two teams at the table – Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings – Michael Gough, who has officiated as an on-field umpire in 95 internationals, and Rashid Riaz will be the on-field umpires with Asif Yaqoob and Nasir Hussain as the third and fourth umpires. Match referee Mohammad Anees will lead them.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board also announced the technical committee for the playoffs. The six-member committee will be led by PCB chief executive Wasim Khan and have Bazid Khan, Dr Riaz Ahmed, Marina Iqbal, Nadeem Khan and Sameer Khosa as members.
