LAHORE – For the first time in the history of the HBL Pakistan Super League, the fans and followers of the league will enjoy cricketing-action in the country’s national language.
A star-studded commentary panel – including Ramiz Raja, Bazid Khan, Waqar Younis and Urooj Mumtaz – will call action in Urdu for five overs every innings, which will be carried on the local feeds.
This enhancement is part of the PCB’s drive to provide improved live coverage to its fans and followers, allowing people to get closer to the event and the game, said a spokesman of the PCB here on Saturday.
In another new initiative, the SpiderCam will provide interactions between players and commentators during the two Eliminators and the final in Lahore, giving fans the essence of on-field action.
The coverage of the most-anticipated league will be done in full High-Definition by 28 cameras, which include Ultra motion and Super SloMo cameras, and to bring up-and-close experience of every match, SpiderCam and Hawkeye will implemented across all four venues – Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi – along with real-time graphics and augmented reality.
Joining the commentary panel for the first time in HBL PSL are Dirk Nannes, a former Australia and Netherlands fast-bowler, HD Ackerman, former South Africa cricketer, Mark Butcher and Dominic Cork, former England cricketers, and Kass Naido, while Danny Morrison, Michael Slater, Alan Wilkins, and Jonty Rhodes return to the league.
Alan Wilkins said: “It has been an absolute honour for me to remain associated with HBL Pakistan Super League since its very first game back in 2016 and I am certainly looking forward to being in Pakistan this year for the fifth edition. This is a special occasion for everyone associated with HBL PSL and I feel lucky that I will be a part of this historic event.”
Jonty Rhodes said: “Pakistan is a fascinating country and when you talk about cricket, Pakistani fans make every experience extremely memorable. I have always loved being in Pakistan and I certainly look forward to a very entertaining HBL Pakistan Super League this year. There are some very talented star players who will be in action and that means we will get to see quality cricket.”
Danny Morrison said: “These are exciting times for Pakistan cricket with all 34 HBL PSL games taking place in Pakistan. The quality of broadcast in HBL PSL has been a hallmark over the years and it is just lovely to be involved in such a high quality production once again.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board has also announced the online streaming platforms and broadcast partners, which will take the on-field all over the world.
Fans in Pakistan will be able to live-stream the entire HBL PSL 2020 on YouTube on BSports, along with cricketgateway.pk, Tapmad, Jazz TV and Mjunoon.tv.
The following is the list of the region-wise broadcast partners – updated till 15 Feburary:
UK – Hum Masala, live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Rest of Europe – live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
USA – Willow TV, live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Caribbean – Flow Sports, live-streaming on flowsports.co and cricketgateway.com
Canada – Willow TV, live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
India – live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Bangladesh – live-streaming on Rabbithole
Sri Lanka – live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Australia – beIN, live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
New Zealand – Sky, live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Malaysia – Astro
UAE and the Gulf States – Etisalat / Du, live-streaming on cricketgateway.com and crickwick
Rest of Middle East / North Africa – live-streaming on cricketgateway.com and crickwick
Qatar – Vodafone
South Africa – live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Rest of Africa – live-streaming on cricketgateway.com
Rest of Asia/Regions not covered above – highlights on beIN and live-streaming on cricketgateway.com.
