Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: PSL 2022: Players & teams to watch out for | Players and teams to watch out for in the upcoming PSL 2022 season
The seven edition of the Pakistan Super League will get underway on 28 January 2022. The Multan Sultans are the reigning champions and chasing a second title. Peshawar Zalmi have reached four of the last five finals, but are still trying to replicate their championship success of 2017.
The Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators will also be in contention, as the PSL offers a tantalising curtain raiser to the Indian Premier League later this year.
Very few, if any, Proteas stars will feature in the Pakistan Super League this season. Cricket South Africa won’t issue no-objection certificates to centrally-contracted players. But there will be plenty of other modern-day domestic T20 greats from elsewhere around the world to increase the global appeal of the tournament.
Islamabad will have England’s Alex Hales, Ireland’s Paul Stirling and New Zealand’s Colin Munro in their ranks. Munro is a particularly intriguing prospect. His role with the bat could boost United’s hopes. He’s done it before for the Perth Scorchers in Australia’s Big Bash League.
Fans will be pleased to see Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi in the Karachi squad. He has played for several domestic T20 franchises around the world, including the Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and others. Here’s another chance to get his name and team among the headlines and latest cricket results from around the world. Karachi have England’s Joe Clarke – of recent Big Bash League success – and national captain Babar Azam as well.
Lahore are side who have gone heavy on English recruits. Their leading light is certainly Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan, who efforts with bat and ball should be complemented by British trio Samit Patel, Harry Brook and Phil Salt. It’s Patel’s role as a spinner that might come in handy in reasonably slower conditions.
The Multan Sultans will be eager to put Imran Tahir to good use. The leg-spinner warmed the bench of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL for far too long, but is all but guaranteed a start in the Sultans XI. For some extra firepower with the ball, they have West Indian seamer Dominic Drakes.
Peshawar must look to Sherfane Rutherford and Ben Cutting. West Indian Rutherford can be a formidable force in the middle order. Cutting is a key factor with the ball. By no means fast, his seam and variations really should work well on dull decks.
And then the Gladiators, who boast some of the biggest hitters in the game, including James Vince, Jason Roy, Shimron Hetmyer and the up and coming Will Smeed. The latter made somewhat of a name for himself in the Abu Dhabi T10 – and now that notoriety is spilling over into the PSL. A lot beckons for the youngster, who just a few months ago was scheduled to play for Green Point Cricket Club in the Western Province Cricket Association premier league. He has come a long way since those humble prospects and could be set to play on an even bigger stage in the not-too-distant future.
