Chris Gayle is expected to be the biggest draw for the crowd in the PSL © IANS
Lahore: Top-rated West Indies cricketers Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo are among headline names for the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL), a franchise-based T20 tournament to be held in Doha in February next year. West Indies players Darren Sammy and Sunil Narine are also part of the PSL draft pool along with former England batsman Owais Shah, reports CMC. The agency that manages Gayle, one of the most valuable Twenty20 players, confirmed that he had signed the pre-draft agreement on Monday. The PSL matches will be played at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium, with a capacity of about 13,000, used last year for a women’s limited-overs tri-series involving Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Brad Hodge applies for Pakistan Super League
The first edition of PSL will feature five franchise-based teams from Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad – with prize money of $1 million. The tournament, featuring 24 matches, is scheduled to run from February 4 to 24, a month before the World T20 in India. Gayle, who currently plays for T20 franchises such as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Jamaica Tawallahs in the IPL and CPL respectively, is expected to be the biggest draw for the crowd in the league.
Pakistani cricketer-turned-commentators Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja have been roped in as brand ambassadors for the league. While the logo for the league will be revealed in a ceremony on September 20, the board is still looking for stakeholders to bid for franchises, with the broadcast rights yet to be settled. Australian batsman Brad Hodge has decided to play in Pakistan Super League (PSL).