PSL 2018: Full Schedule, Teams, Players, and Telecast details 

Pakistan Super League 2018 is all set to get underway in Dubai on 22 February and the third edition of the tournament is all set to quench the thirst of the cricket-crazy fans who are expected to flock to the stadiums. There are a couple of major changes ahead of IPL 2018.

The third edition will see Multan Sultans making their PSL debut and Karachi will also get to host a PSL game for the first time. Darren Sammy's Peshawar Zalmi will be looking to become the first side to defend their crown. Three of the four playoff games will be played in Pakistan with two matches at Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium and the final in Karachi on March 25.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 22. Hareem Farooq and Bilal Ashraf will host the ceremony that will see American pop star Jason Derulo performing alongside many others including the Pakistani Sachal Orchestra.

Let us take a look at some of the important points that you need to know going into the tournament.

Number of teams: 6

Number of matches: 34

Venues: Dubai, Sharjah, Lahore

Telecast: Discovery's sports channel, DSport will broadcast PSL 2018 in India and in the subcontinent (Afghanistan, Nepal, Maldives, and Bhutan). The live streaming of the tournament for Indian viewers will be available on cricketgateway.com,

Schedule

Karachi will host the PSL 2018 final

Defending champions Peshawar Zalmi will open the proceeding against the newest member of the Pakistan Super League in Dubai on February 22. The major change in the schedule for the third edition of the tournament is not just the addition of Multan Sultans but also the fact that the last three matches of the tournament will be held in Pakistan.

The first qualifier will take place in Dubai while both the Eliminators will be held in Lahore with the final in Karachi.

Here is the complete schedule.

Multan Sultans

Multan will have plenty of experience to fall back on

As the newest franchise in the PSL, Sultans had the opportunity to take their pick from the players who weren't retained. They opted to go with two all-rounders in Shoaib Malik, who will now captain the side and West Indies star Kieron Pollard in the Platinum category. They also opted for Kumar Sangakkara as mentor from the Diamond category and Mohammad Irfan as Ambassador in the Gold category.

They boast of a strong bowling line-up that includes the likes of Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan Junadi Khan and Imran Tahir. In comparison to their incredible domestic bowling talent, their batting isn't as great. While they do have the likes of Malik, Pollard and Sangakkara, they don't have as many proven performers, especially at the top of the order.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (c), Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Irfan Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Imran Tahir, Darren Bravo, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Abbas, Nic Pooran, Abdullah Shafiq, Saif Badar.

Supplementary players: Hardus Viljoen, Umar Gul, Umar Siddiq, Ross Whiteley.

Islamabad United

Can Misbah lead them to glory once again?

The inaugural champions of the PSL, Islamabad United retained several stars that have made them impossible to beat at times. The likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, Andre Russell, Samuel Badree and Shadab Khan were retained during the draft. They released Sam Billings but got him back along with two T20 veterans in JP Duminy and Luke Ronchi.

In Shadab Khan and Samuel Badree, they have two world-class leg spinners who can be unplayable at times and their bowling line-up, which also has the likes of Sami, Russell and Raees, will be a force to be reckoned with.

Squad: Misbah ul Haq (c), Rumman Raees, Mohammad Sami, Andre Russell, Shadab Khan, Samuel Badree, Iftikhar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Asif Ali, JP Duminy, Luke Ronchi, Faheem Ashraf, Sam Billings, Zafar Gohar, Sahibzada Farhan, Hussain Talat.

Supplementary players: Alex Hales, David Willey, Mohammad Hasan, Mohammad Hasnain

Karachi Kings

It has been slow but steady progress for Karachi Kings in the PSL and they have tried to fast track their progress to the top as they tore apart their side from the first two seasons. The leading run-getter in T20s (Chris Gayle) was gone along with T20 stars like Kumar Sangakkara, Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik.

The new-look side includes Shahid Afridi, who was brought in for 1 player from gold and 2 players from silver categories. Along with him, they kept hold of the Pakistan trio of Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim and Babar Azam. They also went for experience and T20 specialists in the draft as they brought in the destructive batting duo of Colin Ingram and Luke Wright and the experience of Mitchell Johnson and David Wiese.

Squad: Imad Wasim (c), Shahid Afridi, Usman Khan, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Ravi Bopara, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Colin Ingram, Mitchell Johnson, Luke Wright, David Wiese, Tabish Khan, Mohammad Irfan Jnr., Hasan Mohsin.

Supplementary players: Colin Munro, Eoin Morgan, Saifullah Bangash.

Quetta Gladiators

This will be Kevin Pietersen's final tournament

As far as the PSL is concerned, the Gladiators have been the eternal bridesmaids. They have finished second in the first two editions of the PSL and will be looking to make it third time lucky after deciding to tear the squad apart and releasing 18 international players from the side ahead of the draft.

Captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Kevin Pietersen, who will be playing in his final tournament, along with Rilee Rossouw and Asad Shafiq form the spine of the batting line-up. They have a couple of experienced all-rounders in Shane Watson and Carlos Brathwaite and they also have the No.1 ranked ODI bowler in the world, Rashid Khan to call on as a supplementary player.

Squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mahmudullah, Umar Amin, Mir Hamza, Asad Shafiq, Shane Watson, Carlos Brathwaite, Rahat Ali, Rameez Raja jnr, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel, Hassan Khan.

Supplementary players: Jason Roy, Rashid Khan, Azam Khan, Faraz Ahmed Khan.

Lahore Qalandars

Can Baz get his side off the bottom?

After finishing with the Wooden spoon in the first two editions of the tournament, Lahore Qalandars decided to shake things around for the third edition. While they retained the likes of Brendon McCullum, Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine and Yasir Shah, they also got some shrewd new signings, both domestic and overseas.

Along with the 17-year-old Pakistan pace sensation Shaheen Afridi, they brought in some international stars in Chris Lynn and Mustafizur Rahman. Only time will tell if Qalandars can avoid finishing bottom for the third season running and if they can click as a unit under Brendon McCullum's captaincy.

Squad: Brendon McCullum (c), Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Cameron Delport, Aamer Yamin, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Khan, Chris Lynn, Mustafizur Rahman, Bilal Asif, Raza Hasan, Sohail Akhtar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Ghulam Mudassar.

Supplementary players: Angelo Mathews, Mitchell McClenaghan, Gulraiz Sadaf.

Peshawar Zalmi

Zalmi will be looking to defend their title

The reigning PSL champions will be looking to become the first side to defend their crown. Not only did they retain the core of the side that won them the title in 2017, including two-time World T20-winning captain Darren Sammy, but they also made some shrewd signings ahead of the third edition of the PSL.

They added to an already strong bowling bowling line-up that had the likes of Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz and Chris Jordan with the inclusion of the all-time leading wicket-taker in T20s, Dwayne Bravo. With a settled squad that knows their roles, Zalmi will be a force to be reckoned with once again.

Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Shakib al Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Darren Sammy, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, Dwayne Bravo, Tamim Iqbal, Hammad Azam, Saad Nasim, Taimoor Sultan, Sameen Gul, Ibtisam Sheikh.

Supplementary players: Andre Fletcher, Evin Lewis, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Arif