PSL 2019 Prediction

Champions of the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League, Islamabad United will hunt for their second title as they enter the third season of the tournament. Though the franchise has retained Misbah ul Haq as skipper, there are some significant changes in the squad from the previous season. The most notable among them are the new recruits in Luke Ronchi and Sahibzada Farhan. The likes of Sam Billings and JP Duminy provide strength to the team's middle order. The United have however retained the bulk of their bowling line-up with Shadab Khan, Mohammad Sami, Samuel Badree and Rumman Raees touted as the major threats.

Islamabad United Squad 2018

Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Rumman Raees, Andre Russell, Alex Hales, JP Duminy, Samit Patel, Chadwick Walton, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Samuel Badree, David Willey, Steven Finn, Mohammad Sami, Sahibzada Farhan, Sam Billings, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Hasan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Hasnain, Zafar Gohar, Rohail Nazir

Having finished fourth and third in the first and second seasons respectively, Karachi Kings will look to better their record in the PSL 03. Imad Wasim is set to lead the side this year and the team has drafted in all-rounder Shahid Afridi who played a vital role in Peshawar Zalmi's title win last season. In Colin Ingram, Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara and Babar Azam, the Kings have plenty of firepower in their batting line-up. Mitchell Johnson and Mohammad Amir will be leading the pace attack while Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi should be more than handy when it comes to spin.

Karachi Kings Squad 2018

Imad Wasim (c), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Tymal Mills, Eoin Morgan, Lendl Simmons, Colin Ingram, Ravi Bopara, Joe Denly, David Wiese, Mohammad Rizwan, Saifullah Bangash, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Hasan Mohsin, Mohammad Irfan, Tabish Khan, Mohammad Taha, Mushtaq Ahmed Kalhoro, Mitchell Johnson, Luke Wright

Led by Brendon McCullum, the Qalandars will be desperate to make amends this year after having finished at the bottom of the table in each of the previous two seasons. The addition of Fakhar Zaman and Australian explosive batsman Chris Lynn should help the team turn its fortunes around this time. Umar Akmal has been one of their most consistent run-scorers which makes him a pivotal figure in this batting group. Lahore Qalandars have an impressive bowling line-up with the likes of pacemen Sohail Khan and Mustafizur Rahman along with spinners Yasir Shah and Sunil Narine who took the most wickets for them last time.

Lahore Qalandars Squad 2018

Brendon McCullum (c), Chris Lynn, Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Mustafizur Rahman, Dinesh Ramdin, Sohail Khan, Anton Devcich, Mitchell McClenaghan, Cameron Delport, Gulraiz Sadaf, Bilal Asif, Aamer Yamin, Agha Salman, Sohail Akhtar, Raza Hasan, Shaheen Afridi, Ghulam Mudassar, Imran Khan, Salman Irshad

The debutants will be led by former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik. A fine balance of young blood and seasoned campaigners, Multan Sultans have come up with a formidable-looking squad. The likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Kumar Sangakkara and skipper Malik and hard-hitting West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard add a lot of muscle to the team's batting. Bowling too, especially their pace attack, looks threatening as well. While Sohail Tanvir and Junaid Khan have stood the test of time in the shortest format, Mohammad Irfan with his uneven bounce can cause plenty of problems for the batsmen.

Multan Sultans Squad 2018

Shoaib Malik (c), Kieron Pollard, Imran Tahir, Thisara Perera, Ahmed Shehzad, Darren Bravo, Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Kumar Sangakkara, Umar Gul, Irfan Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Saif Badar, Ross Whiteley, Umar Siddiq, Kashif Bhatti, Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Mohammad Irfan

They are one of the most consistent teams in the competition having reached the playoffs in the inaugural season and then going all the way to win the title in the previous season. Once again, Peshawar Zalmi are stepping into the tournament with a pretty strong squad led by the two-time World T20 winning captain Darren Sammy. Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal who earned the 'Man of the Tournament' award last year will be the key in the team's batting unit. Peshawar's bowling will depend a lot on experienced campaigners Shakib Al Hasan, Wahab Riaz, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan.

Peshawar Zalmi Squad 2018

Darren Sammy (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Hasan Ali, Tamim Iqbal, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Shakib Al Hasan, Liam Dawson, Andre Fletcher, Wahab Riaz, Evin Lewis, Kamran Akmal, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan, Hammad Azam, Mohammad Asghar, Saad Nasim, Sameen Gul, Ibtisam Sheikh, Taimur Sultan, Mohammad Arif, Khushdil Shah

They finished runners-up both times (having lost the 2016 final to Islamabad United and the 2017 final to Peshawar Zalmi) and will look to break their finals jinx this season. For this third edition of the tournament, Quetta Gladiators have retained the core of their squad that will be led by Sarfraz Ahmed. Jason Roy, Rilee Rossouw, Kevin Pietersen along with the skipper will be leading the charge with the bat while Carlos Brathwaite, Ben Laughlin, Jofra Archer and Afghanistan's spin sensation Rashid Khan will be the main weapons with the ball.

Quetta Gladiators Squad 2018

Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Hassan Khan, Kevin Pietersen, Shane Watson, Rilee Rossouw, Jofra Archer, Ben Laughlin, Jason Roy, Albie Morkel, Mahmudullah Riyad, John Hastings, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz, Rashid Khan, Chris Green, Rahat Ali, Anwar Ali, Mir Hamza, Umar Amin, Rameez Raja, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel, Faraz Ahmed, Mohammad Azam Khan, Mohammad Junaid, Carlos Brathwaite