DUBAI: The dazzling trophy for the third edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was unveiled on Tuesday during a ceremony in Dubai in the presence of team captains, owners and media.
There were also trophies for player of the tournament, best batsman, bowler, fielder, keeper and spirit of the cricket award.
While addressing the ceremony, Chairman Pakistan Super League and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi thanked all franchise owners for all their contributions that made the league possible. Sethi also thanked the makers Swarovski for making such a beautiful trophy for the third edition of PSL.
All franchise captains exhibited the intent to claim the trophy while wishing luck to other franchises of the league that will compete for the ultimate gold.
The PCB chairman praised Karachi Kings’ skipper Imad Wasim and called him as one of the best all-rounders in the country.
“He is one of the most talented players. Handing him captaincy of the Karachi Kings is an excellent opportunity. He is the youngest captain here. If the Kings win under Imad, he will be planted firmly in my crosshairs,” he said.
Sethi also showed his support for Champions Trophy winning captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, who led Quetta Gladiators to two consecutive finals in the PSL. “If someone can lead the Green Shirts, they can lead any side in the world,” he stated.
All the six captains of the PSL addressed the ceremony turn by turn. Darren Sammy, the defending skipper of defending champions Peshawar Zalmi wished the rest of five captains luck who are coming after ‘his’ title.
“They are coming for my title,” he joked. “I hope the tournament becomes more successful. I hope my team is still in the running when we get to Karachi [for the final],” he added.
On the other hand, the winner of the inaugural edition of PSL, Misbah-ul-Haq thanked Najam Sethi for his kind words.
“I think the last two years [of PSL] were wonderful. We enjoyed the competition, it keeps getting tougher with every season,” he said.
Brendon McCullum expressed his admiration for Pakistan and their contributions for cricket. He also hoped to do well in the tournament this time.
“I couldn’t think of a better bunch to play against. You are an amazing country and you’ve done great things for cricket. I can’t guarantee success, but we will try our best,” he said.
Sarfraz Ahmed, who missed out in the final of the PSL twice, hoped that he will again lead Gladiators to the final and win the title in front of his home crowd.
“I hope this season goes as well as the last two. I hope to win this series in our home city of Karachi,” he told.
Shoaib Malik, the seasoned campaigner for Pakistan and the captain of the newest franchise of the league, Multan Sultans, thanked everyone, including sponsors, team owners and Najam Sethi, who made this wonderful league possible.
“It’s a great sign for Pakistani cricket. The team owners, sponsors and media have played a remarkable role,” he said.
Karachi Kings’ new captain Imad Wasim joked with Darren Sammy during the ceremony regarding Shahid Afridi’s “Lala and the trophy belongs to Karachi so they are back home.”
“It is a great honour for me to be captaining Karachi Kings for the first time,” he said. “Because of PSL a lot of youngsters who came up and played for Pakistan, because of them we are doing really good in international cricket. I would like to thank Mr. Najam Sethi, because of his presence and his focus on cricket and PSL, we are able to showcase our talent to the world.”
The third season of the PSL will start from February 22 at Dubai with a glittering opening ceremony followed by the opening match of this edition between Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans.
A total of 34 matches will be played across different venues in Dubai, Sharjah, and Lahore. The final will be held at National Stadium in Karachi on March 25,
The glittering awards 🏆!
Player of the tournament
Best player on the field
Best bowler of the tournament
Spirit of Cricket award
Safest Hands award
Best Batsman of the Tournament#HBLPSL #DilSeJaanLagaDe pic.twitter.com/2N0P35I9rZ— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 20, 2018
 was unveiled on Tuesday during a ceremony in Dubai in the presence of team captains.){kind=link}