The entire nation has been holding its breath for the third edition of the Pakistan Super League to begin, and that moment is not far away. The tournament is set to kick off next month, and arguably the country’s biggest cricketing name, Imran Khan, has declared which team he’ll be supporting this time round.
This will be the third edition of the PSL, and promises to be bigger and better than ever before. This time, a total of six teams will be participating in the tournament, with Multan Sultans being the latest entrant in the competition, and on paper, are considered one of the favorites, having the likes of Shoaib Malik in their ranks, and Wasim Akram as their mentor.
There will be a total of thirty four matches being played in the tournament, with all but three games taking place in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The two playoff games, deciding which two teams will contest the final, will take place in Lahore, while the final, as promised by Najam Sethi and the PCB, will take place in the National Stadium in Karachi, which will be the first time an international match will be played in the city for almost ten years.
Imran Khan, after it was decided to stage the last year’s final in Lahore, caused quite an uproar when he called most of the international cricketers that came all the way to Pakistan “Phateechar”, with many believing such an occasion and setting could have avoided such a statement.
Imran Khan, thaks largely to his Pathan roots and the fact that his party forms the KP government, was always seen as a Peshawar Zalmi supporter, but this time, he seems to have changed his allegiances.
Salman Iqbal, the man pretty much running the ARY network, visisted Bani Gala to present Imran Khan with his exclusive Karachi Kings jersey.
He was accompanied by ARY’s team of anchors.
Many have seen this as another political stunt by Kaptaan. Imran Khan has been pretty active in Sindh, eagerly campaigning and holding jalsa after jalsa. Also, his close ties with the ARY network might also have come in handy in shifting his allegiances this time round- ARY is surely in Khan’s good books, as it has been very instrumental in playing the role of the opposition in the media, and has very evidently sided with Imran Khan on almost all political matters.
Call it political or just another gimmick, we now know who’s jersey Kaptaan will be wearing when the PSL matches are on!