2023 Pakistan Super League (referred to as HBL PSL 8 for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2015. Then PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had hinted at an auction based system to replace the draft for the 2023 season but a draft was retained.[1][2] The draft for the tournament was held on 15 December in Karachi.[3] A total of 36 foreign players were picked alongside local players.[4] Lahore Qalandars were the defending champions.
 Official logo | |
| Dates | 13 February – 18 March 2023 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) | Pakistan |
| Champions | Lahore Qalandars (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Multan Sultans |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 34 |
| Player of the series | Ihsanullah (MS) (22 wickets) |
| Most runs | Mohammad Rizwan (MS) (550) |
| Most wickets | Abbas Afridi (MS) (23) |
| Official website | psl-t20.com |
The tournament was to be played between 13 February to 19 March 2023,[5] However, on 16 March 2023, PCB moved forward the final by a day to 18 March 2023 due to bad weather forecast predicted in Lahore, with 19 and 20 March set as reserve days respectively.[6]
In the final, Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans by a minor margin of 1 run to become the first team in the PSL to defend their title.[7]
Squads
In November 2022, the retained player's list was announced.[8] Squads for the tournament were finalized on 15 December with the final draft.[9]
Venues
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced plans to hold matches in Multan, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi during the 2023 season. Lahore and Karachi were only the venues in 2022.[16][17][18] The Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar was declared unfit to hold any matches in the tournament.[19] Quetta's Bugti Stadium was later added to the list of PSL venues but was removed shortly after due to logistical reasons.[20][21][22] The PCB considered moving the matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi to Karachi after a dispute with the Punjab government over the cost of security arrangements but did not do so after the dispute was resolved.[23][24]
| Multan | Karachi | Lahore | Rawalpindi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multan Cricket Stadium | National Bank Cricket Arena | Gaddafi Stadium | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium | |
| Capacity: 35,000[25] | Capacity: 34,000[26] | Capacity: 27,000[27] | Capacity: 15,000[28] | |
 |  |  |  | |
| Matches: 5 | Matches: 9 | Matches: 9 | Matches: 11 | |
Match officials
On 7 February, PCB announced the list of officials for league stage matches which included 3 Elite Panel of ICC Umpires out of 14.[29]
Umpires
Referees
- Ali Naqvi
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Muhammad Javed
- Mohammad Anees
- Roshan Mahanama
Marketing
The season's logo variant was unveiled on 26 January with the hashtags #HBLPSL8 and #SabSitarayHamaray being used for promotion on social media;[30][31] latter being the official anthem. Previously, the slogan for this season had been 'Soch Hai Apki' but was later changed.[32][33]
Trophy
The trophy for this season, named Supernova, was unveiled on 9 February 2023.[34] It was entirely made in Pakistan by Lahore-based Mahfooz Jewellers.[35]
League stage
Format
Each team played every other team twice in the league stage of the tournament in a double round robin.[36] Following the group stage, the top four teams qualified for the playoff stage of the tournament.
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lahore Qalandars (C) | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0.915 |
| 2 | Multan Sultans (R) | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0.500 |
| 3 | Islamabad United (4th) | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 12 | −0.708 |
| 4 | Peshawar Zalmi (3rd) | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | −0.452 |
| 5 | Karachi Kings | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0.756 |
| 6 | Quetta Gladiators | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | −1.066 |
- The top 4 teams qualified for the playoffs.
- Advances to Qualifier.
- Advances to Eliminator 1.
Notes:
- C = Champions;
- R = Runner-up;
- (x) = Position at the end of the tournament
Summary
| Visitor team → | IU | KK | LQ | MS | PZ | QG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home team ↓ | ||||||
| Islamabad United | Islamabad 6 wickets | Lahore 119 runs | Islamabad 2 wickets | Peshawar 13 runs | Islamabad 2 wickets | |
| Karachi Kings | Islamabad 4 wickets | Karachi 67 runs | Karachi 66 runs | Peshawar 2 runs | Quetta 6 runs | |
| Lahore Qalandars | Lahore 110 runs | Karachi 86 runs | Lahore 21 runs | Lahore 40 runs | Lahore 17 runs | |
| Multan Sultans | Multan 52 runs | Multan 3 runs | Lahore 1 run | Multan 56 runs | Multan 9 wickets | |
| Peshawar Zalmi | Islamabad 6 wickets | Peshawar 24 runs | Peshawar 35 runs | Multan 4 wickets | Quetta 8 wickets | |
| Quetta Gladiators | Islamabad 63 runs | Quetta 4 wickets | Lahore 63 runs | Multan 9 runs | Peshawar 4 wickets |
| Home team won | Visitor team won |
- Note: Results listed are according to the home (horizontal) and visitor (vertical) teams.
- Note: Click on a result to see a summary of the match.
League progression
| Team | Group matches | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | E1/Q | E2 | F | |
| Islamabad United | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | L | ||
| Karachi Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |||
| Lahore Qalandars | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | L | W | W |
| Multan Sultans | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | W | L | |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | W | L | |
| Quetta Gladiators | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | |||
| Win | Loss | No result |
- Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
- Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.
Fixtures
The PCB announced the fixtures on 20 January 2023.[22][37] An exhibition match was played between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators before the start of league at the Bugti Stadium and was won by the Gladiators by 3 runs.[38][39]
Karachi and Multan
Lahore Qalandars 175/6 (20 overs) | v | Multan Sultans (H) 174/6 (20 overs) |
- Multan Sultans won the toss and elected to field.
- Mirza Tahir Baig (Lahore Qalandars) made his T20 debut.
Peshawar Zalmi 199/5 (20 overs) | v | Karachi Kings (H) 197/5 (20 overs) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- Sufiyan Muqeem and Khurram Shahzad (Peshawar Zalmi) both made their T20 debuts.
Quetta Gladiators 110 (18.5 overs) | v | Multan Sultans (H) 111/1 (13.3 overs) |
- Multan Sultans won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Karachi Kings 173/7 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 178/6 (18.2 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Multan Sultans 210/3 (20 overs) | v | Peshawar Zalmi 154 (18.5 overs) |
- Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to field.
Quetta Gladiators 168/7 (20 overs) | v | Karachi Kings (H) 162/5 (20 overs) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Multan Sultans 190/4 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 138 (17.5 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Karachi Kings 185/5 (20 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars 118 (17.3 overs) |
Mirza Tahir Baig 45 (39) Akif Javed 4/28 (3.3 overs) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to field.
Quetta Gladiators 154/4 (20 overs) | v | Peshawar Zalmi 157/6 (18.3 overs) |
- Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to field.
Lahore Qalandars 198/6 (20 overs) | v | Quetta Gladiators 135/8 (20 overs) |
- Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Multan Sultans 196/2 (20 overs) | v | Karachi Kings 193/5 (20 overs) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Peshawar Zalmi 156/8 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 159/4 (14.5 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
Islamabad United 220/6 (20 overs) | v | Quetta Gladiators 157 (19.1 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to bat.
- Aimal Khan (Quetta Gladiators) made his T20 debut.
(H) Karachi Kings 167/3 (20 overs) | v | Multan Sultans 101 (16.3 overs) |
- Multan Sultans won the toss and elected to field.
Lahore and Rawalpindi
(H) Lahore Qalandars 241/3 (20 overs) | v | Peshawar Zalmi 201/9 (20 overs) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat.
- Saad Masood (Peshawar Zalmi) made his T20 debut.
(H) Lahore Qalandars 200/7 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 90 (13.5 overs) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat.
Peshawar Zalmi 197/5 (20 overs) | v | Karachi Kings 173/8 (20 overs) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Lahore Qalandars 148 (19.2 overs) | v | Quetta Gladiators 131/7 (20 overs) |
- Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.
Karachi Kings 201/5 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United (H) 204/4 (19.2 overs) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
(H) Lahore Qalandars 180/9 (20 overs) | v | Multan Sultans 159/7 (20 overs) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat.
- As a result of this match, Lahore Qalandars qualified for the playoffs.[40]
Quetta Gladiators 179/6 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United (H) 183/8 (19.3 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
- As a result of this match, Islamabad United qualified for the playoffs.[41]
Karachi Kings 164/6 (20 overs) | v | Quetta Gladiators 168/6 (19.5 overs) |
Adam Rossington 69 (45) Aimal Khan 2/26 (4 overs) |
- Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.
Peshawar Zalmi 207 (19.3 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars 172 (19.4 overs) |
- Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to bat.
- Shawaiz Irfan (Lahore Qalandars) made his T20 debut.
Multan Sultans 205/5 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United (H) 209/8 (19.5 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
Peshawar Zalmi 240/2 (20 overs) | v | Quetta Gladiators 243/2 (18.2 overs) |
- Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the second highest run-chase in PSL history.[42]
Lahore Qalandars 226/5 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United (H) 107 (15.1 overs) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the largest victory in PSL history in terms of runs.[43]
Peshawar Zalmi 242/6 (20 overs) | v | Multan Sultans 244/6 (19.1 overs) |
Multan Sultans 262/3 (20 overs) | v | Quetta Gladiators 253/8 (20 overs) |
- Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.
- Usman Khan (Multan Sultans) scored the fastest century in terms of balls (36) in PSL history.[46]
- This was the highest total scored by a team in PSL history.[47]
- Abbas Afridi (Multan Sultans) took a hat-trick.
- As a result of this match, Peshawar Zalmi qualified for the playoffs.[48]
Peshawar Zalmi 179/8 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United (H) 166 (19.4 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
Karachi Kings 196/7 (20 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars (H) 110 (18.5 overs) |
- Karachi Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
Playoffs
| Qualifier and Eliminator 1 | Eliminator 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| 15 March — Lahore | 18 March — Lahore | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Multan Sultans | 160/5 (20 overs) | 1 | Lahore Qalandars | 200/6 (20 overs) | ||||||||
| 1 | Lahore Qalandars | 76 (14.3 overs) | 17 March — Lahore | 2 | Multan Sultans | 199/8 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 4 | Peshawar Zalmi | 171/5 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
| 16 March — Lahore | 1 | Lahore Qalandars | 176/6 (18.5 overs) | ||||||||||
| 4 | Peshawar Zalmi | 183/8 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
| 3 | Islamabad United | 171/6 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
Qualifier
Multan Sultans 160/5 (20 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars (H) 76 (14.3 overs) |
- Multan Sultans won the toss and elected to bat.
Eliminators
Eliminator 1
Peshawar Zalmi 183/8 (20 overs) | v | Islamabad United 171/6 (20 overs) |
- Islamabad United won the toss and elected to field.
Eliminator 2
Peshawar Zalmi 171/5 (20 overs) | v | Lahore Qalandars (H) 176/6 (18.5 overs) |
Mirza Tahir Baig 54 (42) Azmatullah Omarzai 2/30 (4 overs) |
- Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to bat.
- Ahsan Hafeez (Lahore Qalandars) made his T20 debut.
Final
(H) Lahore Qalandars 200/6 (20 overs) | v | Multan Sultans 199/8 (20 overs) |
- Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat.
- By winning in the final, Lahore Qalandars became the first team in PSL history to defend their title.[7]
Awards and statistics
Abbas Afridi, the leading wicket taker of the tournament, was awarded with the Fazal Mahmood Cap, and Mohammad Rizwan, the leading runs scorer, was awarded with the Hanif Mohammad Cap.[49][50]
Most runs
| Player | Team | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Rizwan | Multan Sultans | 550 |
| Babar Azam | Peshawar Zalmi | 522 |
| Rilee Rossouw | Multan Sultans | 453 |
| Fakhar Zaman | Lahore Qalandars | 429 |
| Imad Wasim | Karachi Kings | 404 |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Most wickets
| Player | Team | Wickets |
|---|---|---|
| Abbas Afridi | Multan Sultans | 23 |
| Ihsanullah | Multan Sultans | 22 |
| Rashid Khan | Lahore Qalandars | 20 |
| Shaheen Afridi | Lahore Qalandars | 19 |
| Usama Mir | Multan Sultans | 17 |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
End of season awards
| Name | Team | Award | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ihsanullah | Multan Sultans | Player of the Tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Multan Sultans | Batsman of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Ihsanullah | Multan Sultans | Bowler of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Imad Wasim | Karachi Kings | All-rounder of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Multan Sultans | Wicket-keeper of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Kieron Pollard | Multan Sultans | Fielder of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Abbas Afridi | Multan Sultans | Emerging player of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| Alex Wharf | — | Umpire of the tournament | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
| — | Peshawar Zalmi | Spirit of cricket | Rs. 30 lakh (US$10,645) |
Team of the tournament
| Players |
|---|