2021 Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 6 or for sponsorship reasons HBL PSL 2021) is the sixth season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2015. This is the second season held entirely in Pakistan. A PSL executive confirmed that the sixth season consists of same six teams with no plans for expansion.[3] It is being held in February and March of 2021. Starting from 2021, PSL are having a dedicated window in the ICC Future Tours Programme.
Squads
Main article: 2021 Pakistan Super League players draft
| Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadab Khan (c) Alex Hales | Imad Wasim (c) Babar Azam Mohammad Amir Colin Ingram Aamer Yamin Sharjeel Khan Waqas Maqsood Arshad Iqbal Mohammad Nabi Dan Christian Chadwick Walton Joe Clarke Danish Aziz Mohammad Ilyas Zeeshan Malik Qasim Akram Noor Ahmad Abbas Afridi | Sohail Akhtar (c) Mohammad Hafeez Shaheen Afridi Fakhar Zaman David Wiese Haris Rauf Ben Dunk | Mohammad Rizwan (c) Shahid Afridi Rilee Rossouw Sohail Tanvir Imran Tahir Khushdil Shah James Vince Usman Qadir Chris Lynn Sohail Khan Sohaib Maqsood Shan Masood Sohaibullah Adam Lyth Shahnawaz Dhani Mohammad Umar Imran Khan Carlos Brathwaite | Wahab Riaz (c) Shoaib Malik Kamran Akmal | Sarfaraz Ahmed (c) Ben Cutting Mohammad Hasnain Mohammad Nawaz Azam Khan Naseem Shah Zahid Mahmood Anwar Ali Chris Gayle Tom Banton Usman Shinwari Cameron Delport Qais Ahmad Abdul Nasir Saim Ayub Arish Ali Khan Dale Steyn Usman Khan Faf du Plessis Hasan Khan |
On 9 January 2021, the PCB announced the retention players list. The players draft took place on 10 January 2021 in Lahore.On 15 February 2021, Mohammad Rizwan replaced Shan Masood as the captain of the Multan Sultans.
Venues
In June 2020, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that they plan to add Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar as a fifth venue in this edition of the PSL. However, delays in construction of the stadium may make it difficult to host the matches of the tournament. PCB also planned to hold few matches in Faisalabad and Hyderabad as well. Stadium in Hayatabad was also announced as a possible venue for some matches. In September 2020, the PCB confirmed that both the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar and Bugti Stadium in Quetta, would be unable to host this season’s matches. However, it was later decided that the tournament will be held at only Karachi and Lahore.
| Lahore | Karachi |
|---|---|
| Gaddafi Stadium | National Stadium |
| Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 32,000 |
| Matches: 14 | Matches: 20 |
 Lahore Karachi |
The stadiums will be allowed to host only 20% crowd out of total capacity per match; i.e. about 7,500 in Karachi and 5,500 in Lahore; in view of COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. The tickets can be booked only online via Pakistan’s online ticketing platform Bookme.pk, from 11 February
Match officials
Umpires
- Faisal Afridi
Aleem Dar
Michael Gough- Zameer Haider
- Richard Illingworth
- Imran Javed
- Ahsan Raza
- Shozab Raza
- Rashid Riaz
- Asif Yaqoob
Referees
Roshan Mahanama
Promotion in media
Anthems
Main article: Groove Mera See also: List of Pakistan Super League anthems § 2021 HBL PSL Taranay
The league is being promoted on social media with the hashtags #MatchDikhao, #HBLPSL6 and of official anthem #GrooveMera by Naseebo Lal, Aima Baig and Young Stunners.
For the first time this year, 5 more tracks were also released under the cricket album titled HBL PSL Taranay
Opening ceremony
See also: Pakistan Super League opening and closing ceremonies § 2021
The ceremony will be telecasted as a virtual opening programme after being recorded in Istanbul, Turkey, instead of having live ceremony at the stadium due to the pandemic. The artists line up include Atif Aslam, Imran Khan and Humaima Malik, aside of the performers of the official anthem.
Commentators
- Sikander Bakht
- Dominic Cork
Simon Doull
JP Duminy- David Gower
- Bazid Khan
Pommie Mbangwa- Sana Mir
- Danny Morrison
- Urooj Mumtaz
- Rameez Raja
- Tariq Saeed
Alan Wilkins
Presenters
League stage
Format
The six teams play 10 matches each and get 2 points for every win, none for a loss and 1 point for a no result. The top four team in the group stage qualify for the play-offs.
Points table
| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lahore Qalandars | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.792 |
| 2 | Islamabad United | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.468 |
| 3 | Karachi Kings | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.398 |
| 4 | Peshawar Zalmi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −0.086 |
| 5 | Multan Sultans | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | −0.583 |
| 6 | Quetta Gladiators | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | −2.007 |
Updated to match(es) played on 24 February 2021. Source: ESPNcricinfo
- The top 4 teams qualified for the playoffs
- Advanced to Qualifier
- Advanced to Eliminator 1
Summary
| Visitor team → | IU | KK | LQ | MS | PZ | QG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home team ↓ | ||||||
| Islamabad United | Match 20 | Match 24 | Islamabad 3 wickets | Match 29 | Match 12 | |
| Karachi Kings | Islamabad 5 wickets | Match 11 | Match 9 | Match 13 | Karachi 7 wickets | |
| Lahore Qalandars | Match 15 | Match 28 | Match 7 | Lahore 4 wickets | Lahore 9 wickets | |
| Multan Sultans | Match 26 | Match 16 | Match 30 | Match 23 | Match 19 | |
| Peshawar Zalmi | Match 10 | Match 21 | Match 18 | Peshawar 6 wickets | Match 8 | |
| Quetta Gladiators | Match 17 | Match 25 | Match 22 | Match 14 | Match 27 |
| Home team won | Visitor team won |
- Note: Results listed are according to the home (horizontal) and visitor (vertical) teams.
- Note: Click on a result to see a summary of the match
Fixtures
The PCB confirmed the fixtures for the tournament on 8 January 2021, and all the match officials on 12 February 2021. All times are in UTC+5 (PKT).
| 20 February 2021 20:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Quetta Gladiators 121 (18.2 overs) | v | Karachi Kings 126/3 (13.5 overs) |
| Chris Gayle 39 (24) Arshad Iqbal 3/16 (4 overs) | Joe Clarke 46 (23) Mohammad Hasnain 2/18 (4 overs) |
| Karachi Kings won by 7 wickets National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Ahsan Raza (Pak) Player of the match: Arshad Iqbal (Karachi Kings) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- Saim Ayub (Quetta Gladiators) made his T20 debut.
| 21 February 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Peshawar Zalmi 140/6 (20 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars 143/6 (18.3 overs) |
| Ravi Bopara 50 (44) Shaheen Afridi 3/14 (4 overs) | Mohammad Hafeez 33* (26) Saqib Mahmood 2/22 (4 overs) |
| Lahore Qalandars won by 4 wickets National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Shozab Raza (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match: Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to field.
- Ahmed Daniyal, Salman Mirza (Lahore Qalandars) and Mohammad Imran (Peshawar Zalmi) all made their T20 debuts.
| 21 February 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Multan Sultans 150/8 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 151/7 (19 overs) |
| Mohammad Rizwan 71 (53) Mohammad Wasim 3/29 (4 overs) | Lewis Gregory 49* (31) Carlos Brathwaite 2/23 (4 overs) |
| Islamabad United won by 3 wickets National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Ahsan Raza (Pak) Player of the match: Lewis Gregory (Islamabad United) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
- Mohammad Wasim (Islamabad United) and Mohammad Umar (Multan Sultans) both made their T20 debuts.
| 22 February 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Quetta Gladiators 178/6 (20 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars 179/1 (18.2 overs) |
| Chris Gayle 68 (40) Haris Rauf 3/38 (4 overs) | Fakhar Zaman 82* (52) Zahid Mahmood 1/28 (3 overs) |
| Lahore Qalandars won by 9 wickets National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) Player of the match: Fakhar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to field.
| 23 February 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Multan Sultans 193/4 (20 overs) | v | Peshawar Zalmi 197/4 (19 overs) |
| James Vince 84 (55) Saqib Mahmood 2/36 (4 overs) | Tom Kohler-Cadmore 53 (32) Shahnawaz Dhani 2/44 (4 overs) |
| Peshawar Zalmi won by 6 wickets National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Aleem Dar (Pak) Player of the match: Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Peshawar Zalmi) |
- Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to field.
- Shahnawaz Dhani (Multan Sultans) made his T20 debut.
| 24 February 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings 196/3 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 197/5 (19.1 overs) |
| Sharjeel Khan 105 (59) Hussain Talat 1/25 (2 overs) | Iftikhar Ahmed 49* (37) Waqas Maqsood 1/22 (2.1 overs) |
| Islamabad United won by 5 wickets National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match: Alex Hales (Islamabad United) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
| 26 February 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Lahore Qalandars | v | Multan Sultans |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Faisal Afridi (Pak) and Aleem Dar (Pak) |
| 26 February 2021 20:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Peshawar Zalmi | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) |
| 27 February 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Multan Sultans |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Rashid Riaz (Eng) |
| 27 February 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Peshawar Zalmi |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Shozab Raza (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) |
| 28 February 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Lahore Qalandars |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Richard Illingworth (Eng) |
| 1 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Pak) and Shozab Raza (Pak) |
| 3 March 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Peshawar Zalmi |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Imran Javed (Pak) |
| 3 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Multan Sultans | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Faisal Afridi (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) |
| 4 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Lahore Qalandars |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) |
| 5 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Multan Sultans |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Shozab Raza (Pak) |
| 6 March 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Imran Javed (Pak) and Ahsan Raza (Pak) |
| 6 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Lahore Qalandars | v | Peshawar Zalmi |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Shozab Raza (Pak) |
| 7 March 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Multan Sultans | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Shozab Raza (Pak) |
| 7 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Karachi Kings |
| National Stadium, Karachi Umpires: Rashid Riaz (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) |
| 10 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Michael Gough (Eng) and Ahsan Raza (Pak) |
| 11 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Lahore Qalandars | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Michael Gough (Eng) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) |
| 12 March 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Multan Sultans | v | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Shozab Raza (Pak) |
| 12 March 2021 20:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Lahore Qalandars |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Michael Gough (Eng) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) |
| 13 March 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Zameer Haider (Pak) |
| 13 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Multan Sultans |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Michael Gough (Eng) and Shozab Raza (Pak) |
| 14 March 2021 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
| Peshawar Zalmi | v | Quetta Gladiators |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Michael Gough (Eng) |
| 14 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Karachi Kings | v | Lahore Qalandars |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Zameer Haider (Pak) and Ahsan Raza (Pak) |
| 15 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Islamabad United | v | Peshawar Zalmi |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Michael Gough (Eng) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) |
| 16 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Lahore Qalandars | v | Multan Sultans |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) |
Playoffs
| Preliminary | Final | |||||||||
| 22 March — Lahore | ||||||||||
| 18 March — Lahore | ||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||
| 20 March — Lahore | ||||||||||
| 19 March — Lahore | ||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||
Qualifier
| 18 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| 1st placed team | v | 2nd placed team |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
Eliminator
Eliminator 1
| 19 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| 3rd placed team | v | 4th placed team |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
Eliminator 2
| 20 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Loser of Qualifier | v | Winner of Eliminator 1 |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
Final
Main article: 2021 Pakistan Super League Final
| 22 March 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard |
| Winner of Qualifier | v | Winner of Eliminator 2 |
| Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |