PSL 2019 Predictions

The fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League is scheduled to be played from February 14 till March 17. The league stage will comprise a total of 30 matches of which the first 26 will all be played in the United Arab Emirates across three venues - Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in Sharjah and Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The last four league-stage fixtures along with the three playoff games and the final will be played in Pakistan. The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will host three of those matches while the National Stadium in Karachi will host five including the PSL 2019 final

PSL 2019 Tournament Format

The league stage of the PSL 04 will be played in a double round-robin format with each of the six teams facing every other team twice. The top four teams on the points table at the end of the league round will qualify for the playoffs comprising a Qualifier and two Eliminators. The top two teams will clash in the Qualifier, the winner of which will get a direct entry in the final, while the third and fourth ranked teams will face-off in Eliminator 1. The loser of the Qualifier will then take on the winner of Eliminator 1 in Eliminator 2. While the loser of this game will get knocked out of the tournament, the winner will advance to play the title bout in the final.

Read on for team previews, betting odds, betting tips and predictions for Pakistan Super League 2019.....

PSL 2019 Matches Schedule & Fixtures

PSL 2019 Team Preview & Betting Odds

Peshawar Zalmi PSL 2019 Preview

Peshawar Zalmi are one of the most consistent teams of the Pakistan Super League having made it to the playoffs each time. They were crowned champions in the 2017 edition of the tournament and they had a very successful run last year as well finishing runners-up. They ended the league stage as the third ranked team on the points table with five wins and as many losses before knocking out Quetta Gladiators in the first Eliminator. Peshawar then got the better of Karachi Kings in the second Eliminator to set up the final showdown against Islamabad United which they lost by three wickets.

Peshawar Zalmi will continue to be led by the two-time T20 World Cup winning captain Darren Sammy for the PSL 4. The franchise has released Mohammad Hafeez along with several others including Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Dwayne Bravo, Haris Sohail, Andre Fletcher, Evin Lewis and Chris Jordan. Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal and Liam Dawson are the ones to have been retained apart from skipper Darren Sammy. Kamran Akmal finished as the tournament's second-highest run getter last year with 425 runs and Wahab Riaz as the second-best bowler with 18 wickets.

Peshawar Zalmi PSL 2019 Squad

Darren Sammy (C), Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sameen Gul, Khalid Usman, Umaid Asif, Liam Dawson, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Dawid Malan, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Wayne Madsen, Nabi Gul, Jamal Anwar, Chris Jordan, Ibtisam Sheikh, Samiullah, Waqar Salamkheil

Peshawar Zalmi PSL 2019 Betting Odds

Peshawar Zalmi  are the underdogs amongst the bookmakers and they are being offered at odds of 7.50 on Betway, 8 on Bet365 and 1.72 on Betfair to win the Pakistan Super League 2019.

Quetta Gladiators PSL 2019 Preview

Quetta Gladiators have been impressive in each of the previous three PSL seasons - they came runners-up in the inaugural 2016 edition as well as the following year and did well to go past the league round last time. The Gladiators won five and lost as many matches out of their ten league games last season to finish fourth in the standings. After losing their last two league encounters against Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United respectively, they got edged out by Peshawar Zalmi in the first Eliminator which brought an end to their PSL 3 campaign. Having gone so close to winning the trophy in the first two seasons, Quetta Gladiators will look to leave no stone unturned this time.

Sarfraz Ahmed, captain of the Pakistan team in all three formats of the game, has been appointed as the team's skipper for the Pakistan Super League 2019. At the auctions, Quetta Gladiators traded Rahat Ali and Hassan Khan with Lahore Qalandars in exchange for Sunil Narine and Umar Akmal. They have released plenty of players from their squad including Rashid Khan, Mahmudullah, Jason Roy, Carlos Brathwaite and Asad Shafiq. Among the notable retentions are Shane Watson, Mohammad Nawaz and Sohail Tanvir. Shane Watson scored 319 runs and took 11 wickets last time and the Australian all-rounder will be one of the key players for the Gladiators this year as well. Apart from him, Sarfraz Ahmed and Rilee Rossouw did a good job with the bat last season while Mohammad Nawaz and Anwar Ali were impressive with the ball.

Quetta Gladiators PSL 2019 Squad

Sarfraz Ahmed (C), Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Shane Watson, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Azam Khan, Saud Shakeel, Sunil Narine, Sohail Tanvir, Dwayne Bravo, Fawad Ahmed, Jalat Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Danish Aziz, Ahsan Ali, Ghulam Mudassar, Naseem Shah, Harry Gurney

Quetta Gladiators PSL 2019 Betting Odds

Quetta Gladiators have been fixed at odds of 1.67 on Betfair and 5.50 on both Betway and Bet365 to win the PSL 2019.

Karachi Kings PSL 2019 Preview

Karachi Kings have been one of the more competitive teams in the PSL and have put in good performances in the past. They have always qualified for the playoffs but have never made it to the final of the tournament and they will look to change that this season. Last year, they finished second on the points table at the end of the league round with five wins and four defeats from ten matches. However, back-to-back losses against Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in the Qualifier and second Eliminator respectively resulted in their exit from the competition.

Karachi Kings will be led by Pakistani spin-bowling all-rounder Imad Wasim in this year's Pakistan Super League. The team bagged Kiwi explosive opening batsman Colin Munro at the auctions while retaining eight players from the previous season including Babar Azam, Ravi Bopara, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan and Colin Ingram. The Kings, however, have released Shahid Afridi, Mitchell Johnson, David Wiese, Luke Wright, Eoin Morgan and a few others. Babar Azam was one of the leading run-scorers last time with 402 runs which included five half-centuries while Usman Khan finished amongst the top five bowlers with 16 wickets.

Karachi Kings PSL 2019 Squad

Imad Wasim (C), Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Ravi Bopara, Usman Khan, Mohammad Amir, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Sikandar Raza, Awais Zia, Usama Mir, Aaron Summers, Sohail Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ali Imran, Abrar Ahmed, Aamir Yamin, Jaahid Ali, Ben Dunk, Liam Livingstone

Karachi Kings PSL 2019 Betting Odds

Karachi Kings are being offered at odds of 5 on Betway, 4.50 on Bet365 and 1.67 on Betfair to win the Pakistan Super League 2019.

Multan Sultans PSL 2019 Preview

Multan Sultans made their maiden appearance in the Pakistan Super League in the previous edition. Things did not go too well for them as they finished fifth on the points table at the end of the league stage with four wins and five losses from their ten matches. They got their campaign off to an excellent start with four wins in their first five completed matches. However, they ended up losing their remaining four matches and fell short of qualifying for the playoffs by a whisker. The Sultans played their last league game against Islamabad United at Sharjah which they lost by 33 runs.

Multan Sultans have retained Shoaib Malik as their captain for the PSL 4 in addition to having retained several other players including Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Shan Masood and Mohammad Irfan. The team had earlier bought former Australia captain Steven Smith but he has been ruled out of the tournament with an elbow injury. West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell has been added into the squad as Smith's replacement. The Sultans also picked up Shahid Afridi at the auctions while trading James Vince for Joe Denly. Kumar Sangakkara, Kieron Pollard and Umar Gul are among the ones who have been released from the squad.

Multan Sultans PSL 2019 Squad

Shoaib Malik (C), Shan Masood, Umar Siddiq, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Shahid Afridi, Joe Denly, Nicholas Pooran, Qais Ahmed, Shakeel Ansar, Laurie Evans, Numan Ali, Dan Christian, Tome Moores, Ali Shafiq, Muhammad Ilyas, Andre Russell

Multan Sultans PSL 2019 Betting Odds

Multan Sultans find themselves up at 7 on Betway, 6.50 on Bet365 and 1.67 on Betfair to win the Pakistan Super League 2019.

Lahore Qalandars PSL 2019 Preview

Lahore Qalandars have been the worst performing team in the Pakistan Super League and have always finished at the bottom of the table. Last year was no different. They just could not figure out a way to lift themselves off the bottom and managed just three wins from ten games at the end of the league round. The Qalandars had a disastrous start, failing to register a single win in their first six matches, and were the first team to be eliminated from the tournament. The Qalandars played their last match against Peshawar Zalmi and suffered a seven-wicket loss.

With Brendon McCullum released from the squad, Lahore Qalandars have appointed Mohammad Hafeez as their new skipper for this year's PSL. At the auctions, they traded Sunil Narine and Umar Akmal to Quetta Gladiators in order to acquire pace bowler Rahat Ali and spinner Hassan Khan. They had the first opportunity to select a player from the Platinum player category and bagged AB de Villiers. The Qalandars have also roped in the South African duo of David Wiese and Hardus Viljoen as cover for Carlos Brathwaite, Corey Anderson and de Villiers. Fakhar Zaman scored the most runs for them last season while leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed the most wickets.

Lahore Qalandars PSL 2019 Squad

Mohammad Hafeez (C), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, AB de Villiers, Yasir Shah, Sohail Akhtar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rahat Ali, Agha Salman, Hassan Khan, Anton Devcich, Carlos Brathwaite, Corey Anderson, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mohammad Imran, Umair Masood, Brendan Taylor, Gohar Ali, Aizaz Cheema, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Hardus Viljoen

Lahore Qalandars PSL 2019 Betting Odds

Lahore Qalandars are being offered at odds of 1.64 on Betfair. They are, however, favorites to win the PSL 2019 with Betway and Bet365 at 4 and 4.33 respectively.

Islamabad United PSL 2019 Preview

Islamabad United are the most successful team of the Pakistan Super league with two title triumphs. They won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2016 and emerged winners again in the previous season. 2017 was also memorable for them – they went on to top the league standings but went down to Karachi Kings in the Eliminator. The defending champions finished league leaders last time as well after winning seven of their ten matches. They then beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets in the Qualifier at Dubai before winning the summit clash against Peshawar Zalmi at Karachi.

Islamabad United have released their previous skipper Misbah-ul-Haq from the squad and have named last year's 'Player of the Tournament' Luke Ronchi as their new captain. The New Zealand batsman struck five half-centuries and finished as the tournament's leading run-getter with 435 runs. Apart from Misbah-ul-Haq, the team has also released several players including Andre Russell, Samuel Badree, JP Duminy, David Willey and Alex Hales. Among the ones who have been retained are Mohammad Sami, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Rumman Raees and Faheem Ashraf who was the tournament's best bowler last year with 18 wickets.

Islamabad United PSL 2019 Squad

Luke Ronchi (C), Sahibzada Farhan, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Zafar Gohar, Waqas Maqsood, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Sami, Ian Bell, Philip Salt, Cameron Delport, Samit Patel, Muhammad Musa, Wayne Parnell, Zahir Khan, Amad Butt, Rizwan Hussain, Nasir Nawaz

Islamabad United PSL 2019 Betting Odds

Islamabad United are 4.50 on Betway, 5 on Bet365 and 1.57 on Betfair to win the Pakistan Super League 2019.

Our Prediction: Who Will Win PSL 2019?

Lahore Qalandars have been cellar dwellers in each of the previous three PSL seasons which means they are the ones who will be feeling the most pressure. Though they have acquired the services of the South African batting maestro AB de Villiers, we still don't think they have what it takes to go the distance. Multan Sultans were touted as serious title contenders last year but they failed to live up to the expectations. Moreover, Steven Smith's untimely injury ahead of the tournament is a big blow for them and it will hurt their chances of winning the trophy.

Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators finished in the top four last season and we expect these four teams to make it to the playoffs once again. Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta have performed consistently in the past and they all have the potential to win the tournament. Islamabad, however, are two-time champions and they will be starting high on confidence having won the previous edition. They have a strong squad this year as well and appear to have the best balance in terms of team composition. It is going to be a close call between Islamabad and Peshawar, but we feel the former have a good chance of defending their title.

Final Verdict: Back Islamabad United to win the Pakistan Super League 2019 at 4.50 with Betway, 5 with Bet365 and 1.57 with Betfair.