PSL 2020 - End of uncertainty, set for grand finish

When the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to play all matches of the Pakistan Super League in Pakistan, it seemed a bold move. When the tournament did kick off on February 20, the board had successfully pulled off the move as several overseas cricketers warmed up to the idea of playing in Pakistan. The cricket, in general, took giant strides for the next 24 days before the organisers were forced to suspend the tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After months of preparations, it was the last thing PCB and the franchises needed. Uncertainty gripped the tournament with no end in sight to the pandemic. While PCB, to their credit, did convey that they will host the knockout games at some stage, Multan Sultans, who finished at the top of the table of the league stage, hinted that they should be crowned champions and the tournament should be ended. While the other franchises - Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi - didn't quite agree, PCB eventually released the date of the playoffs on September 2.

Earlier, during the tournament, PCB had decided to remove the qualifiers and replace it with two knockout games and the final as the pandemic gripped Pakistan. However, the call was later made to suspend the tournament after one player had shown COVID-19 symptoms. While releasing the revised fixtures, PCB decided to continue with the original format and now Multan Sultans will take on Karachi Kings in the Qualifier on November 14 with the Eliminator on the same day between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi. The second Eliminator will be played on November 15 with the final on November 17.

Things, however, haven't been easy for PCB. First, the matches were moved from Lahore to Karachi because of the poor air quality and then several key overseas stars had to pull out because of travel restrictions. Daren Sammy, probably the face of the tournament outside of Pakistan, won't feature for Zalmi because of travel restrictions. James Vince and Mahmudullah will miss the tournament after testing positive while there was another roadblock when another player tested positive at the team hotel. The player, though, has been moved into isolation and the whole squad has returned negative tests.

Team news:

Multan Sultans: Joe Denly will replace Vince in the squad while Brendan Taylor has joined the squad as well. The Zimbabwe batsman has stayed back after the limited-overs series as several key players - Moeen Ali, Wayne Madsen and Fabian Allen - have had to pull out with Adam Lyth the replacement for Allen.They finished at the top of the table with 14 points from 10 games.

Squad: Adam Lyth, Ali Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Imran Tahir, Joe Denly, Junaid Khan, Khushdil Shah, Brendon Taylor, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Ravi Bopara, Rilee Rossouw, Rohail Nazir, Shaan Masood, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir, Zeeshan Ashraf.

Karachi Kings: Sherfane Rutherford will replace Chris Jordan for the Kings, who finished second with 11 points and five wins in the bag. Alex Hales is back with the squad along with Cameron Delport and Chadwick Walton. While the team did name Mitchell McClenaghan in their squad, the pacer confirmed he won't be part of the tournament "due to the inability to secure a quarantine spot in New Zealand until Feb 15". Wayne Parnell was then roped in as a replacement for the left-armer.

Squad: Aamir Yamin, Wayne Parnell, Arshad Iqbal, Awais Zia, Babar Azam, Cameron Delport, Chadwick Walton, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, James Vince, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Sharjeel Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Umaid Asif, Umer Khan, Usama Mir, Waqas Maqsood.

Lahore Qalandars: The Sohail Akhtar-led side could have finished in the top two as they had bagged five wins just like Kings. However, Kings had one washed out game and shared points with Sultans to edge ahead. They will, however, miss the services of Chris Lynn, their highest run-getter, but Samit Patel and David Wiese have joined the squad. Tamim Iqbal will replace Lynn.

Squad: Abid Ali, Agha Salman, Ben Dunk, Dane Vilas, David Wiese, Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Farzan Raja, Haris Rauf, Jaahid Ali, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Hafeez, Samit Patel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Akhtar, Tamim Iqbal, Usman Shinwari.

Peshawar Zalmi: Despite missing Sammy, and being jolted with the absence of Kieron Pollard, they received a major boost as Faf du Plessis is set to make his PSL debut. Tom Banton too will miss out while Saqib Mahmood will replace Liam Livingstone.

Squad: Aamir Ali, Adil Amin, Carlos Brathwaite, Faf du Plessis, Haider Ali Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Khurram Shehzad, Saqib Mahmood, Mohammad Mohsin, Rahat Ali, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah.