The Pakistan Super League 2017 is in its second season after its foundation in 2016 and, with only 5 teams, it already has the attention that any medium-sized professional football club would envy.
WHY DOES PSL 2017 STEAL THE SPOTLIGHT?
The competition was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (responsible for cricket events in Pakistan) in 2016 to offer viewers a 'short' version of the show; that is, if a 'first-line' duel is played in 3 or 4 days (6 hours per day, divided into 3 sessions of 2 hours, 30 overs per session), the PSL 2017 is played in Twenty20 format (20 overs) in a single day.
In 2016, the PSL 2017 (short for Pakistan Super League) registered 5 million fans through the company CricketGateway.com. The event covered countries such as India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; Singapore, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Japan.
THE TEAMS AND THEIR CAPTAINS
There are five teams that will participate from February 9 to March 5 in the PSL 2017, all newly formed teams in Pakistan in 2015.
Islamabad United - Misbah-ul-Haq / @IsbUnited
Karachi Kings - Kumar Sangakkara / @KarachiKingsARY
Lahore Qalandars - Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) / @lahoreqalandars
Peshawar Zalmi - Darren Sammy (Saint Lucia) / @PeshawarZalmi
Quetta Gladiators - Sarfraz Ahmed / @TeamQuetta
THE FORMAT AND THE VENUES
The 5 participating teams will be eliminated in a Round Robin format (everyone against everyone), with playoffs and a Final, to be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE, for the group stage. The title match will take place in Lahore, Pakistan, although security measures in the country may change the venue at the last moment.
*Over: Once the bowler has bowled the ball 6 times in one direction, an over is declared. When an over is consumed, the bowler is replaced. Bowlers cannot participate in consecutive overs, but they can repeat after at least one delivery.