The 34-match tournament comprises of three-double headers scheduled on April 12, May 1 and 10, while the remaining fixtures will be single headers taking place across Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi
\n ISLAMABAD
\nThe HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) is all set to welcome its tenth edition HBL PSL X, when defending champions Islamabad United take on Lahore Qalandars at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday night.
\nA glittering opening ceremony before the start of play on Friday will mark the beginning of this historic edition. HBL PSL X is slated to run from April 11 to 18 May with night matches starting at 8pm PKT.
\nThe 34-match tournament comprises of three-double headers scheduled on April 12, May 1 and 10, while the remaining fixtures will be single headers taking place across Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi. The three afternoon games will begin at 4pm PKT.
\nThe six teams will also be locking horns to take away the USD 500,000 prize money set for the winners, while the runners-up team will be awarded USD 200,000. The HBL PSL X Draft, which took place on January 13, gave the six franchises an opportunity to refurbish their squads ahead of the historic edition.
\nThe newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is set to play host to 13 HBL PSL X matches including Qualifier, Eliminator and the May 18 final. The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host 11 matches, while Multan Cricket Stadium and National Bank Stadium will witness five HBL PSL X matches each this season.
\nBabar Azam, the leading run-scorer in the HBL PSL with 3,504 runs to his name, will be leading the HBL PSL 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi. Australia\u2019s David Warner becomes the fourth overseas player to lead the 2020 champions Karachi Kings after Ravi Bopara, Kumar Sangakkara and Eoin Morgan.
\nMohammad Rizwan, who led Multan Sultans to glory in the 2021 edition in Abu Dhabi, will continue to reign as Sultans\u2019 skipper having done so 48 times in the previous four HBL PSL editions. Quetta\u2019s Saud Shakeel will take the leadership duties of the Gladiators from Rilee Rossouw.
\nShadab Khan, who has led Islamabad United in 55 HBL PSL matches so far, has been entrusted leadership duties for HBL PSL X as well, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, the only captain to have won consecutive HBL PSL titles will be in charge of the Lahore Qalandars.
\nIn HBL PSL 2024, Islamabad United emerged winners bagging the title for third time, while Multan Sultans ended up as runners-up for the third consecutive time. In the pre-tournament press conference Babar Azam, captain Peshawar Zalmi said, \u201cThis season we are focusing on what we missed out in the last couple of editions and not to repeat the same mistakes. We have strengthened our core on both bowling and batting front so that we don\u2019t struggle at any stage of the game.
\n\u201cWe will look to field XIs according to the conditions on the four venues. I think all the six teams are strong making the HBL PSL X highly competitive.\u201d
\nHasan Ali, vice-captain Karachi Kings said, \u201cKarachi Kings have changed their combination to bring firepower to their batting and in HBL PSL X we intend to play with aggression early on as powerplay is the key to increasing your chances of winning. \u201cThe team environment has been great over the last few days and we will try to play entertaining cricket wherever we go.\u201d
\nMohammad Rizwan, captain Multan Sultans said, \u201cThe HBL PSL X has become a huge brand that every family in the country has supporters of different teams, while all the fans wait for this sporting spectacle whole year. Whoever wins the tournament will be a success for this country as the league has entered the 10th edition.\u201d
\nSaud Shakeel, captain Quetta Gladiators said, \u201cThe last few seasons haven\u2019t been good for Quetta and like all other teams we have tried our best to assemble a quality squad. We look forward to playing well and entertaining the fans this time around.
\n\u201cOur squad looks well balanced and it will be exciting to lead Quetta Gladiators this season.\u201d
\nShadab Khan, captain Islamabad United said, \u201cIslamabad United is excited to play five home games at the Rawalpindi Stadium this season and we look forward to performing well in front of our fans. You will get to see a different Islamabad United outfit this season.
\n\u201cBeing the defending champions, we will look to continue the consistent performances this season as well and expand our trophy cabinet.\u201d
\nShaheen Shah Afridi, captain Lahore Qalandars said, \u201cOne of the key goals for Lahore Qalandars throughout the HBL PSL has been developing and producing quality players and we will stick to that goal in the 10th edition of the league as well.
\n\u201cI am highly excited for the young players in the Lahore Qalandars squad and hopefully they will deliver well during this season. I am enjoying the leadership duties for Lahore Qalandars and looking forward to celebrate the HBL PSL throughout the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 34-match tournament comprises of three-double headers scheduled on April 12, May 1 and 10, while the remaining fixtures will be single headers taking place across Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi ISLAMABAD The HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) is all set to welcome its tenth edition HBL PSL X, when defending champions Islamabad United take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-471765","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n