PSL Predictions & Betting Tips - 2021

2020 result: Sixth
Captain: Shadab Khan
Platinum Players: Khan, Hasan Ali, Alex Hales
Other Key Players: Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali

Two-time winners Islamabad United endured a frustrating season last time out, winning just three times as they slumped to the bottom of the table despite finishing with a positive net run rate.

Their response has been to transfer in big-hitting opener Alex Hales and they have looked towards the fringes of the England squad for their draft picks too.

Big-hitting North Walian batsman Phil Salt joins Hales up the order and, while Colin Munro is now unavailable, Lewis Gregory has also been drafted in. They join Hales who arrives fresh from topping the batting charts at the BBL.

Their Pakistani stars include captain Shadab Khan, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, big-hitting finisher Asif Ali and bowler Hasan Ali.

All of that adds up to a well-balanced squad with plenty of firepower at the top of the order, who can make a marked improvement on last season’s slump.

Islamabad United PSL 2021 Odds

After their disappointing performance in 2020, Islamabad United are 6.50 to win the 2021 Pakistan Super League.

2020 Result: Winners (First title)
Captain: Imad Wasim
Platinum Players: Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir
Other Key Players: Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian

Karachi Kings won the 2020 title – their first PSL success – and they are favourites to defend their crown in 2021.

Karachi are packed with proven T20 winners, retaining key players from last season’s success and adding some exciting draft picks too.

Veteran all-rounders Mohammad Nabi and Dan Christian – the latter straight from helping Sydney Sixers to the Big Bash League title – are their most notable new arrivals.

And they join a squad that already includes Pakistan captain Babar Azam – the leading run-scorer in last year’s final and, indeed, in the entire tournament last time out.

Ranked second in the T20i batting charts, Babar will be key up the order again, while Mohammad Amir is their key bowler – and may feel he has something to prove after his international retirement.

Babar Azam was in a league of his own with the bat last season, and with their strong and experienced all-rounders alongside him, Karachi will be among the frontrunners again.

Karachi Kings PSL 2021 Odds

Betway have listed Karachi Kings as favourites to win the 2021 Pakistan Super League, and they can be backed at 4.00.

2020 Result: Finalists
Captain: Sohail Akhtar
Platinum Players: Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan
Other Key Players: Fakhar Zaman, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Samit Patel

Lahore reached the final for the first time last year and, while they fell just short of a maiden title, the Qalandars have retained the core of their squad.

The one major addition is spin bowler Rashid Khan – still the number-one ranked T20i bowler in the world.

He spearheads the spin-bowling attack and will be key in tandem with paceman Shaheen Afridi – the top bowler in last year’s tournament.

Haris Rauf is another key bowler, while Mohammad Hafeez’s experience with bat and ball, Fakhar Zaman’s top-order batting and David Wiese’s all-round performances will also be key.

It is a squad packed with T20 talent and, having only strengthened the core of the team that went so close last season, it is a team primed to challenge for honours again.

Lahore Qalandars PSL 2021 Odds

Lahore Qalandars can be backed at 4.33 to win the 2021 PSL with Betway.

2020 Result: First in group, Third overall
Captain: Shan Masood
Platinum Players: Chris Lynn, Shahid Afridi, Rilee Rossouw
Other Key Players: Sohail Tanvir, James Vince, Khushdil Shah

Multan Sultans were in good form in the group stage last season, but by the time the delayed play-offs were played they could not maintain it.

Still, it was a best performance for the youngest team in the Pakistan Super League and some smart retentions for 2021 means they boast a strong squad again.

There is certainly no shortage of firepower, with Sydney Sixers’ star man in their BBL title win, James Vince, perhaps the best of all the Gold-level players on offer.

Vince will partner Chris Lynn, who himself was back to some of his best form in the BBL, at the top of the order and if they do not fire then Rilee Rossouw will come in to pick up the pieces.

That is a formidable top-order, and with Adam Lyth also an option and Shahid Afridi to arrive at the tail-end of the innings, they can expect plenty of runs.

The question then is can they defend them? Sohail Tanvir will certainly think so and the 36-year-old left-arm paceman remains a formidable option.

Multan Sultans PSL 2021 Odds

Multan Sultans are outsiders despite their batting line-up, at 7.00 to win the 2021 Pakistan Super League with Betway.

2020 Result: Fourth
Captain: Wahab Riaz
Platinum Players: Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik, David Miller
Other Key Players: Kamran Akmal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sherfane Rutherford, Liam Livingstone

Peshawar Zalmi will have expected better from their 2020 season than what was ultimately a disappointing fourth-place finish.

They have added some youthful talent to an experienced squad for the 2021 season, however, and once again look among the teams to beat.

Wahab Riaz captains the team, while 40-year-old Shoaib Malik will look to recapture the T20 form he showed in 2019/20 that earned him an international recall. Kamran Akmal is also retained.

At the other end of the age scale, teenage spin-bowling superstar Mujeeb Ur Rahman, rising West Indian star Sherfane Rutherford and upcoming England hopeful Saqib Mahmood are all on board.

It was a busy draft for Zalmi, who have torn up the script from last season and come out the other end with what looks a strong and balanced squad on paper.

Mujeeb – the second-best bowler in the world according to the T20i rankings – is a top spin-bowling option, while Liam Livingstone has been retained and arrives off the back of a strong BBL campaign.

Add in the aforementioned experience, and a whole host of Pakistani fringe players who will have designs on forcing their way into the T20 World Cup squad and there is a lot to look forward to.

Peshawar Zalmi PSL 2021 Odds

Peshawar Zalmi, fourth last season, are 6.00 with Betway to win the tournament this year.

2020 Result: Fifth
Captain: Sarfaraz Ahmed
Platinum Players: Sarfaraz Ahmed, Chris Gayle, Tom Banton
Other Key Players: Mohammad Hasnain, Qais Ahmad, Naseem Shah

Quetta Gladiators were disappointing in their title defence last season, failing to recreate their previous heights and ultimately missing out on the play-offs.

Despite that, they have retained a core of their squad – albeit their two key additions are platinum picks.

The two in question, Chris Gayle and Tom Banton, will open the batting together and the Gladiators will be hoping they see the version of 41-year-old Gayle who scored three half-centuries – including a high score of 99 – in seven IPL matches before Christmas.

Banton, meanwhile, recaptured some of his form at the Abu Dhabi T10 League and if he can replicate his best hitting too it is a formidable partnership in the making.

The problem is the lack of depth if it does not pay off up the order, and it could be too much for a young but talented bowling line-up – including Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Qais Ahmad – to back up.

Quetta Gladiators PSL 2021 Odds

Quetta Gladiators are 5.00 to win the 2021 Pakistan Super League with Betway.