Kevin Pieterson
Kevin Pieterson will feature for the Quetta Gladiators when they take on Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League Getty

The long awaited Pakistan Super League (PSL), is set to kick off on Thursday in Dubai with Islamabad United taking on Quetta Gladiators. The 24-match league will be held from 4 to 23 February across Sharjah and Dubai.

Where to watch:

Match starts at 4pm GMT. Live coverage of the game is available in UK on Prime TV.

Overview:

The T20 bandwagon rolls on, this time in the form of the Pakistan Super League as the inaugural tournament takes place in the desert plains of the United Arab Emirates. Lost amidst the hype and the hoopla of the Masters Champions League taking place simultaneously, the PSL consists of five teams, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators fighting for the crown.

The teams will be lead by Misbah-Ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed, respectively. The international T20 stars players like Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Kumar Sangakkara, Kevin Pietersen, Andre Russell among others.

PSL has been in the works for sometime, following two failed attempts due to lack of sponsorship and suspension of international cricket at home in the aftermath of the militant attack on the Sri Lankan team almost seven years ago. With Pakistan languishing in seventh place in the T20 rankings, the PCB will hope that the league helps in uncovering new talent.

Team News

Islamabad United Squad:

Shane Watson (Aus), Andre Russell (WI), Misbah ul Haq (captain), Samuel Badree (WI), Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin (Aus), Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Imran Khalid, Kamran Ghulam, Umar Amin, Sam Billings (Eng), Rumman Raees, Amad Butt Supplementary: Ashar Zaidi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Siddiq

Quetta Gladiators Squad:

Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Jason Holder (WI), Luke Wright (Eng), Zulfiqar Babar, Umar Gul, Elton Chigumbura (Zim), Bilal Asif, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Nabi (Afg), Akbar-ur-Rehman, Bismillah Khan
Supplementary: Kumar Sangakkara, Aizaz Cheema, Ramiz Raja Jr.