Ceremony includes blend of music, fireworks, and cricketing excitement as PSL kicks off landmark season in style
\n Rawalpindi
\nThe glittering opening ceremony of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10th edition held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with hundreds of fans in attendance.
\nThe night promised a blend of music, fireworks, and cricketing excitement as PSL kicks off its landmark season in style. This is the first time that Rawalpindi will host the first game of the league.
\nThe opening ceremony included a range of exciting performances, including renowned Sufi music artist Abida Parveen, a cultural act by Ali Zafar, and a contemporary performance by Young Stunners, according to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
\nIn addition, the singers of the HBL PSL X anthem \u2014 Abrar ul Haq, Ali Zafar, Natasha Baig, and Talha Anjum \u2014 will also perform.
\nFollowing the ceremony, defending champions Islamabad United will take on two-time winners of the trophy, Lahore Qalandars, in the opening match of the tournament.
\nThe 34-match tournament comprises three double headers scheduled on April 12, May 1 and May 10, while the remaining fixtures will take place across Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
\nThe six teams will lock horns to take away the $500,000 prize money set for the winners, while the runners-up will be awarded $200,000. The PSL X Draft, which took place on January 13, gave the six franchises an opportunity to refurbish their squads ahead of the historic tenth edition.
\nThe newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is set to play host to 13 PSL X matches, including the 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 PSL X matches each this season.
\nBabar Azam, the leading run-scorer in 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 the 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 the third time, while Multan Sultans ended up as runners-up for the third consecutive time.
\n\u2018Foolproof security\u2019
\nMeanwhile, the Rawalpindi police have made foolproof security arrangements for the PSL 2025.
\nAccording to a spokesperson, the security arrangements were made in coordination with the Pakistan Army, Rangers and other security agencies.
\n\u201cOver 5,000 police personnel along with more than 367 traffic police personnel will perform security duties,\u201d the spokesman said.
\nRegional Police Officer Babar Sarfraz Alpa and City Police Officer Syed Khalid Hamdani, along with other high officers, were in the field to supervise the arrangements, he added.
\nSpecial police teams, including Dolphin Force and Elite Force personnel, were deployed around the stadium and its surroundings, the spokesman said.
\nA special control room, he added, had been set up to monitor the stadium and its surroundings and the entire city through Safe City and other CCTV cameras.
\nHe said expert snipers were deployed on the rooftops around the stadium and the route of the teams.
\nThe spokesman further said that the visitors were allowed to enter the stadium through a walk-through gate and full body search.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ceremony includes blend of music, fireworks, and cricketing excitement as PSL kicks off landmark season in style Rawalpindi The glittering opening ceremony of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10th edition held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with hundreds of fans in attendance. The night promised a blend of music, fireworks, and cricketing excitement as PSL […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-471964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n