Karachi Kings take on Quetta Gladiators in first double-header of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 season at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday, February 23.
The Kings created quite a lot of buzz in the lead-up to the third season of PSL as they snapped up Pakistan star all-rounder Shahid Afridi from Peshawar Zalmi, who lost the opening match of the tournament by seven wickets to newbies Multan Sultans.
Afridi will not lead the Karachi based outfit, but will serve as the president of the franchise in the ongoing season. Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim has been trusted with the leadership role.
Team warmup session before the First Match of #KarachiKings in #HBLPSL3 #KarachiKingsvsQuettaGladiators #DeDhanaDhan pic.twitter.com/EQDOkYBFBZ
— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 23, 2018
Karachi Kings finished fourth in the inaugural edition of the league in 2016 and secured the third spot last season. They will have the opportunity of playing the final in front of their home crowd if they manage to better their previous performances this season.
The Kings have a solid batting line-up, which has the likes of Babar Azam, Colin Ingram, Lendl Simmons, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara apart from big-hitter Afridi.
Mohammad Amir will lead their bowling attack. England pacer Tymal Mills and skipper Imad will be key to the team's success.
Star-studded Gladiators
On the other hand, Sarfraz Ahmed-led Gladiators, who finished runners-up in the last two seasons, have a star-studded line-up. Their batting unit is filled with big-hitters of the likes of English duo of Jason Roy and Kevin Pietersen, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson and South Africa's Rilee Rossouw.
The focus will be on world number one ODI bowler Rashid Khan as the Afghanistan leg-spinner will be seen as the wrecker-in-chief.
Gladiators though will miss Khan from the first week of March as he will be away on international duty for Afghanistan's World Cup 2018 qualifiers.
When is the match and how to watch it live
The second match of PSL 2018 between the Kings and the Gladiators will start at 3:30pm Dubai time, 5pm IST, 11:30am GMT.
Live streaming information and TV coverage
- Worldwide live stream: cricketgateway.com
- India: TV: DSport; Live stream: DSport on Jio TV, Airtel TV; cricketgateway.com
- Pakistan: PTV Sports
- UK: Sky Sports Channel 792 (Prime TV)
- US: Willow TV
Squads
Quetta Gladiators: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Rilee Rossouw, Jason Roy, Kevin Pietersen, Rameez Raja, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Shane Watson, Mohammad Nawaz, Mahmudullah, Jofra Archer, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel, Anwar Ali, Rashid Khan, Hassan Khan Mohammad, Mir Hamza, Rahat Ali.
Karachi Kings: Imad Wasim (c), Babar Azam, Joe Denly, Colin Ingram, Khurram Manzoor, Lendl Simmons, Saifullah Bangash, Eoin Morgan, Mohammad Rizwan(wk), Mohammed Taha, Tabish Khan, Ravi Bopara, Hasan Mohsin, Shahid Afridi, David Wiese, Usama Mir, Tymal Mills, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan.
