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Standard of cricket in PSL 9 - better or worse than previous editions?

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MenInG

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DRS issues, dropped catches, no high scoring games or incredible innings to speak of etc

Early days yet but are we seeing a decline in quality of cricket in PSL in the ninth edition?
 
Quality of foreign players is average at best. Grounds seem in poor shape. Broadcast issues on a daily basis. Transfer of star players to other teams makes it difficult to root for a particular team ( Babar, Mohd Amir etc). Feel like I'm watching Lanka league or BPL....
 
Bowlers barely hitting 145, let alone 150.

Pakistan cricket is in the doldrums.

A few individuals are preventing us from being associate level, otherwise the quality across the board is nowhere near international level.
 
Apart from Naseem Shah I've not been very impressed with the pacers.

The batting is mostly as usual, heavily reliant on overseas players to lift the nrr whilst Pakistani players largely plod along playing for their average.

Fielding standards as usual are very poor.

Umpiring on and off the field has been embarrassing at times.

PSL like so many T20 leagues is becoming much of a muchness.
 
I'm disappointed to see the lack of quality express pace this season.
Rauf has been the fastest, but he's lost his touch. No Ihsandullah either. Naseem and Hasnain are not 100%, just makes it less fun to watch.
 
From my observation after watching few matches
  1. Very poor transmission quality. Almost the worst I have watched. Probably BPL some seasons was worse than this
  2. Poor fielding skills. Looks like Sunday league level commitments
  3. Bowling pretty average. Only Naseem looked good. Shaheen and others look pretty ordinary
  4. Below average local batting skills. Mostly reliant on over the hill overseas players.
  5. Hardly any marquee overseas player. Is Dawid Malan the most accomplished current overseas player? I am not sure if he will even be the first choice English player.
  6. Everything looks very casual and not at all professionals
  7. Poor crowds. Empty stadiums make it look like some local matches
  8. Poor quality stadiums and general infrastructure
Overall I feel PSL has regressed a lot. I haven't watched it every year but I remember few years back it was decent. Now it looks like people are just going through the motion. There is no life, hype or energy anywhere.

SAT20 is leagues above PSL in every possible way.
 
Happy that the domestic guys are getting chance here but some other issues related to management need to be fixed.
 
Good to see domestic red ball performers showing their mettle in this tournament so far

Muhammad Ali
Sahibzada Farhan
Mir Hamza
Abrar Ahmed
Saud Shaqeel
Salman Ali Agha

Excellent performances from these boys
 
The standard of cricket looked like a downgrade from the previous season. Mainly due to the fielding stuff. Broadcasting has issues as well. Not sure if it is going to get better as the season progresses.

One positive thing I can see is the guys who grinded hard in the domestics are doing well as Rana has pointed out. Good to see them getting their hard work paid off specially Mir hamza and saud.
 
The fielding has been disgraceful. So many club level mistakes.

A league such as this also requires more foreign star power. You need the best players on the planet to play, it's the only way to elevate the tournament when there's so much of the same happening around the world.
 
The fielding has been bad but the overall cricket has been fairly decent and its been quite entertaining.

The overseas players are something I have also complained about in the past but the reality is that while they aren't the cream of the crop there is some fairly decent players. Yes there are one or two that aren't of the required quality but it adds a bit of a tactical dimension to the game as a viewer.

The domestic batting has been good and some new players have burst onto the scene with bat and ball which is fairly promising.

The downsides are the lack of production quality and the lack of team identity. I suppose moving around from team to team is a Pakistani quality so its expected from the league but ideally the 'icon' players should stick around at one side to build an identity.

The production quality is poor and appears to have gone backwards year on year.

Overall the league has both good and bad points - as a Pakistani fan the bad points can be overlooked because the good points outweigh them ( good domestic performances for example outweigh the average overseas players). However the PSL organisers have not built a product here that will attract neutrals.
 
Pakistan Super League is not progressing. Except Rassie van der Dussen, Jason Roy, and Kieron Pollard, which top-class foreign players are playing in this PSL 9?

Let's be honest,this PSL is not producing top quality products because they are playing with the same mediocre players and becoming heroes while beating those mediocre players. Then how can you expect our players to be ready to deal with top class foreign players such as Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ben Stokes, and Glenn Maxwell, etc., etc.?

We are just wasting time and money on this poor league.
 
Fielding standards have certainly dropped in this edition of PSL but we are seeing really good bowling and batting performance from various players. We are seeing good performances from some of the well known players like Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed and we are witnessing great performances from some new faces like Nafay and Faisal Akram.
 
FearlessRoar said:
Pakistan Super League is not progressing. Except Rassie van der Dussen, Jason Roy, and Kieron Pollard, which top-class foreign players are playing in this PSL 9?

Let's be honest,this PSL is not producing top quality products because they are playing with the same mediocre players and becoming heroes while beating those mediocre players. Then how can you expect our players to be ready to deal with top class foreign players such as Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ben Stokes, and Glenn Maxwell, etc., etc.?

We are just wasting time and money on this poor league.
Click to expand...

How did players deal with top class foreign players before franchise leagues?
 
PSL 9 itself so far half decent with some high scores.

It’s the dinosaur grounds which let the tournament down big time.

We need new stadiums ASAP
 
i havnt seen a full game and dont intend to, contrary to my earlier hopes the psl does nothing to improve the national team. their is no way the psl can compete long term against other leagues unless it ups the investment in its product. apart from RvD and Shamsi, i cant think of any world class players, and the local players are regressing year on year cos none of them have any interest in playing first class cricket, which is an abysmal standard anyway now.

the psl was easily the second best league for a few years, but that's because it was built on a solid foundation of local players, dudes like sohail tanvir, hafeez, sami, akmal sr, wahab, etc, who even after the quit with Pakistan were very good professionals, now the local talent is abject, and people are hoping for some youngster to break through. your premier leagues most attractive feature should not be the off chance that u might discover a youngster.

PSL needs to double or triple its salaries, unfortunately it means that local cricketers who dont necessarily deserve those salaries will command them too, and inflate the overall budgets. its a bit of a mess.
 
Franchises need to be more ruthless with their picks. There is no reason why the likes of Haider Ali, Khusdil Shah, Asif Ali and co keep getting undeserved chances. Poor fielding and fitness standards have further diminished the standards of the tournament.

These Franchises cannot be trusted to be professional on their own. Maybe PCB should have the right to veto selections made by Franchises during the draft
 
A few PSL Franchise Owners have requested the PCB to look into a new window for the PSL because the competition from SA T20, Big Bash, IL T20 and BPL has hurt the league very badly and the fact it is held just before the IPL further makes it harder to pick quality players who prefer to rest before the IPL.

PCB might need to consider holding their domestic T-20 and ODI tournaments in Feb, March, April and hold the PSL in Oct-Nov instead, the weather will be decent to play cricket and you will have a better chance of getting better players.
 
Hands down the worst psl season ever.

The production and broadcast quality is just pathetic

Compare the images of 2018 psl with this psl and you will see how pathetic the broadcast quality is
 
FearlessRoar said:
Pakistan Super League is not progressing. Except Rassie van der Dussen, Jason Roy, and Kieron Pollard, which top-class foreign players are playing in this PSL 9?

Let's be honest,this PSL is not producing top quality products because they are playing with the same mediocre players and becoming heroes while beating those mediocre players. Then how can you expect our players to be ready to deal with top class foreign players such as Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ben Stokes, and Glenn Maxwell, etc., etc.?

We are just wasting time and money on this poor league.
Click to expand...
PSL is profitable for the PCB.
 
Amazing how a population of 250 million can produce such medicore players. I have seen misfields, trundlers bowling pies and hacks.

Why isn't there any quality coming through?

It's been 15 years since Afridi/Akhtar/Younis Khan/Misbah generation. Still no regens? Is this the longest we have waited? Only produced Babar as a true world class player since.
 
Performances of top orders of each side in PSL thus far.

dSiR6XL.jpeg
 
Standard for T20 leagues matters only 50% , the product matters other 50..
 
As per reports, PCB issued strict instructions to the curators at the Pindi Cricket Stadium to make "moderate" pitches for the upcoming PSL 9 matches.

However, the PCB has decided to remove the "flat pitches" tag associated with the stadium as the cricketing body has instructed the curators to make pitches that would support bowlers as much as batters.

The PCB further instructed not to reduce the boundary size so that the fans get to see an even encounter between batters and the bowlers.

Five pitches will be used for PSL 9 matches at the Pindi stadium.
 
MS, IU, QG, and PZ will qualify for the playoffs. KK and LQ will be out soon. Back to the pre-2020 PSL era, lol.
 
It's a downgrade from last season. But to be fair , most T20 leagues are just rubbish.

The Hundred is an awful format. BBL rarely has top domestic players let alone international ones, CPL is OK for Windies' standards, IPL is too long and has took many teams.

The issue with PSL , apart from the declining broadcast quality, is that most players are one season wonders who are great in one season and nobodies the very next one.

The SA20 is the only high quality, watchable league right now - great domestic talent and just the right number of teams . Smith and co. deserve a lot of credit for making such an attractive product.
 
No wonder why all of them are not doing good except Pollard
====
Top 5 oldest cricketers in PSL season 9

1. Shoaib Malik age 42 years and 28 days old
2. Sohail Khan 39 years and 360 days old
3. Davis Wiese 38 years and 258 days old
4. Kieron Pollard 36 years and 292 days old
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed 36 years and 254 days old
 
Domestic talent is of even poorer standard, fielding and fitness is at all time worst. Only silver lining is that crowd still supporting PSL and even with so many T20 leagues around the world, PSL can still survive. Pakistan cricket needs serious planning and effort to improve cricket at the grass root, school cricket and club cricket. Keep the FC cricket at regional level and not on departmental level .
 
As an Indian my biggest issue with PSL is lack of loyalty of star players. I like Amir and Imad from Pakistan and I used to binge watch KK highlights after work. Yesterday, I checked this year's KK match and both my favourite players are gone. I have no desire to watch retired uncles Pollard and Malik who were big flops in international cricket. Surprisingly, there was no crowd in stadium too.
 
Major said:
Hands down the worst psl season ever.

The production and broadcast quality is just pathetic

Compare the images of 2018 psl with this psl and you will see how pathetic the broadcast quality is
Click to expand...

Agreed.

It's shocking how they're treating their most important asset like it's some random domestic tournament. Foundational elements such as the production, ground quality, and even in-stadium presentation should be improving every year.
 
Rainy weather is likely to play spoilsport during the eagerly-awaited Pakistan Super League (PSL) double header tomorrow (Saturday) when the action shifts to the Pindi Stadium.

Chances of showers accompanied by thunderstorms are likely during the course of play on Saturday. In the day match, Peshawar Zalmi will take on Lahore Qalandars while the evening match will see hosts Islamabad United facing Quetta Gladiators.
 
kingusama92 said:
Agreed.

It's shocking how they're treating their most important asset like it's some random domestic tournament. Foundational elements such as the production, ground quality, and even in-stadium presentation should be improving every year.
Click to expand...

There was a lot of instability in the PCB, Zaka resigned a few weeks before the PSL and Mohsin Naqvi has still not take full time charge given that he was Punjab's CM. It was obvious preparations for the PSL were badly neglected this time around.
 
PSL has always had the worst standard of batting, bowling (including pace bowling) and fielding amongst all major leagues simply because the best of the best contemporary cricketers do not play in PSL, most of the overseas contingent is composed of washed up players or discards except a few, and Pakistan is the least talented cricket nation in the world.

Combine all three and you get the worst major league in the world in terms of quality of cricket. This particular edition is no better or worse than any other PSL edition, but I've really enjoyed this and the previous edition because Babar is playing for my team.
 
Seems technical standards are going down too.

Posted by a verified twitter account
 

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As per reports, Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi have taken preemptive measures by canceling their practice sessions

According to the latest report from The Weather Channel, Rawalpindi is on high alert as the chances of rain loom large, with a staggering 100% probability during the day and a still significant 70% chance at night. The forecast suggests the possibility of heavy downpours, raising concerns among cricket aficionados and players alike.
 
In Lahore and Rawalpindi, the PSL makes Pakistan proud, but it's a bit of a hassle for locals. I heard people complaining about traffic in Karachi, and in Rawalpindi, they had to bring in over 5,000 police officers. Hosting these big games in cities seems to come with some challenges.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Kieron Pollard has left the Karachi Kings squad to attend the wedding of Ambani’s son.
Click to expand...

Ambani's son is not a small thing. I have heard that even the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg are flying down to India exclusively to attend his wedding. Pollard is indebted to them because of the handsome amount they have paid him all these years for Mumbai Indians.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Kieron Pollard has left the Karachi Kings squad to attend the wedding of Ambani’s son.
Click to expand...
Wedding is in July, this is just some pre-wedding event, whole world has turned up. During the last wedding of an Ambani scion, Amitabh Bachchan and SRK were waiters, Aamir Khan was a valet or something and Salman Khan a background dancer to entertain guests. I think Ambani is even more powerful than Indian PM, wise choice by Pollard, who knows he may end up working for Ambani in some capacity after retirement?
 
Standard of cricket depends almost entirely on quality of international players, if that has taken a hit, obviously quality will look worse.
 
Swashbuckler said:
Wedding is in July, this is just some pre-wedding event, whole world has turned up. During the last wedding of an Ambani scion, Amitabh Bachchan and SRK were waiters, Aamir Khan was a valet or something and Salman Khan a background dancer to entertain guests. I think Ambani is even more powerful than Indian PM, wise choice by Pollard, who knows he may end up working for Ambani in some capacity after retirement?
Click to expand...

Rihanna has flown down to India to perform at the event, apparently she will be charging INR 200 crores i.e. close to $24 million
 
With thus pace PSL wil be extincted in a couple of seasons, PCB need to think out of the box to lure in top quality players , with these set of international players broadcasters will also get hesitant to consider it a marquee league
 
Savak said:
Rihanna has flown down to India to perform at the event, apparently she will be charging INR 200 crores i.e. close to $24 million
Click to expand...

And guess what?
Two years back, Rihana was brand ambassador of so-called farmers when they were protesting against Reliance/Ambani's and Now the same Rihanna is going to dance at Ambani’s son’s wedding..lol

Money talks :dw
 
Swashbuckler said:
Wedding is in July, this is just some pre-wedding event, whole world has turned up. During the last wedding of an Ambani scion, Amitabh Bachchan and SRK were waiters, Aamir Khan was a valet or something and Salman Khan a background dancer to entertain guests. I think Ambani is even more powerful than Indian PM, wise choice by Pollard, who knows he may end up working for Ambani in some capacity after retirement?
Click to expand...

Yes, appointed as Batting Coach for MI after retirement.
 
Guys this thread is not about Ambani's son's wedding, so it's better to stay on topic and avoid derailing the discussion.
 
This is T20 franchise cricket what do people expect M Amir to bowl at 150kh or Shoaib M to hit 6 sixes off s
Afridi.

Same as every league enjoy the fun 🤩
 
Just saw highlights of the first PSL final and Quetta bowling attack includes the following local players:

Anwar Ali, Aizaz Cheema, Zulfiqar Babar & Mohammad Nawaz. IU best local bowlers were Mohammad Irfan & Sami. Absolutely comical stuff IMO.

IU won the final with nearly zero contributions from their local batsmen and it was basically Brad Haddin & Dwayne Smith that scored nearly all the runs.

Maybe the foreign talent is not as high end in previous years but I think the local talent is a lot better which is more important. Ideally, you want high end local talent and high end foreign players but I'm not sure what leagues are pulling this off except for IPL. It doesn't help Pakistan no longer hold PSL in Dubai which is why it attracted so many foreign players. You get a nice easy payday and enjoy your life in Dubai? Sounds amazing for any player. Pakistan isn't exactly a hot bed for tourists and there is so much security that players freedom gets restricted too. Maybe a PSL window in October or so could help solve some of these issues as this time of the year is busy internationally & leagues wise so players availability is always going to be restricted.
 
Talent in the country is rock bottom. None of the young players capable of doing anything. Sad state of affairs. Indian cricket is peaking and our cricket is falling off a cliff. Keep changing the chairman every 18 months, I'm sure that'll fix the issues...
 
Swashbuckler said:
Standard of cricket depends almost entirely on quality of international players, if that has taken a hit, obviously quality will look worse.
Click to expand...
To be honest, age is catching up with most of famous cricketers (32+) and I don't see many prodigal young cricketers coming up unlike football. I don't see any international cricketer whose presence would have lighten up PSL.
 
Presence of retired players like Malik and Pollard as key players of a team really dents the reputation of any sports league. In India, we have soccer league (ISL) which is known as retirement home of 40+ European players who are way past their prime. PSL is sadly going that way. I don't know what is compulsion of playing 42 year old Malik. It looks so bad.
 
Actually, the Pakistan Super League has become a sandwich league. When the ILT20 ends, the PSL starts, and simultaneously, the BPL and SA20 Leagues are also ongoing. PSL has strict security protocols, which restrict foreign players from enjoying freedom. And, of course, IPL, BPL, and SA20 leagues are offering players more money than PSL. Unfortunately, the future of PSL does not seem bright to me.
 
FearlessRoar said:
So now it is clear that the pitches in Multan and Lahore were flat pitches.

6vdk1Zb.jpg
Click to expand...
Traditionally Karachi's wicket has always been considered a flatter one following Rawalpindi's but don't know how curators are preparing these pitches now.
 
West Indies great Sir Viv Richards, while speaking in an interview with a local Pakistani channel:

"Every year, it just seems to be improving. And you can only speak of the individuals who come to this particular tournament."

"Pakistan is blessed with enormous talent."

"To have the PSL, it gives every young individual an opportunity.”

"After they would have been successful in the PSL. They can go on to bigger things, the big bashes around the world and all the other tournaments. So, this is a tournament that is done well."

"The only thing that you fear, I guess for young individuals, is failure. But failure comes with success."

"It's all about working hard. And wherever you would have had failure to go back and work as hard as possible to get yourself back in, in the best place that can be in order for you to perform."

"When you have good talent and someone like Shane Watson at the helm as coach, everyone is happy together."

"Just having him around is always a good thing. His contribution to the team is as good as any."

“Even though I love Pakistan, and I love Pakistan dearly, I think West Indies have a good enough team in order for them to go on win it. So, we're hoping that we can give a good show of ourselves. One must remember that West Indies is filled with a lot of talent as well. And, in this T20 form, they are just as good as any team that is there. We're just hoping that the guys can come to the form, put their best performance and so long as they do that, I believe that we can win that T20 World Cup at home."
 
Are short boundary sizes good for international leagues?

Today's boundary size at Rawalpindi Stadium for the Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators match.

X2Cn797.jpg
 
Wow, Akeal Hosein you beauty... The latest inductee into the illuminous hattrick takers club alongside following greats. He achieved this feat today against PZ.
AbsnCwL.jpeg
 
Quality of the tournament has picked up towards the end. The PCB just needs to ensure that the local players are fully fit and absolutely ready from a fielding point of view for future PSL seasons as that is what really adds value to the tournament.
 
3 to win in 1. Shoaib Malik hits a 4
7 to win in 2. Imad Wasim goes 6, 4
4 to win in 1. Mohammad Wasim hits a 6

Three consecutive last-ball finishes in the PSL 2024
 
FearlessRoar said:
3 to win in 1. Shoaib Malik hits a 4
7 to win in 2. Imad Wasim goes 6, 4
4 to win in 1. Mohammad Wasim hits a 6

Three consecutive last-ball finishes in the PSL 2024
Click to expand...
competitive matches doesn't mean high quality. i don't know if you are watching WPL or not, a lot of their matches are highly competitive. Heck local club i play for produces consistent last over finishes every season, around 8 this season. Doesn't mean we play very high quality cricket
 
Regarding the local players, medicore batting, medicore bowling, medicore fielding, overweight players, underweight players, mediocre commentators, medicore broadcast and medicore stadiums.

If it wasn't for the foreign players this would be another medicore domestic tournament.

It was only a matter of time until the failing economy would catch up with cricket, it is really starting to show, from the people, their attitudes to the infrastructure.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
Regarding the local players, medicore batting, medicore bowling, medicore fielding, overweight players, underweight players, mediocre commentators, medicore broadcast and medicore stadiums.

If it wasn't for the foreign players this would be another medicore domestic tournament.

It was only a matter of time until the failing economy would catch up with cricket, it is really starting to show, from the people, their attitudes to the infrastructure.
Click to expand...
Players not watching what they shove into their mouths has nothing to do with the economy, neither is the inability to match international fitness or fielding standards.
 
Well if you access it quality wise, then i believe even PSL 9 had also fared well.
 
As I’ve been saying for years, it’s about time to schedule the PSL at the same time as the IPL.

Two reasons for this:

1. Pakistan does not need to come up with its own window that clashes with International games

2. PSL can snatch up the second best tier of overseas players, who’ve missed out on an IPL contract but will be available to play in the PSL instead. They will be far superior to the foreign players we’ve seen this season
 
The PSL has been hugely entertaining and there have been some box office clashes, some brief glimpses of new talent and some Hollywood style redemption stories.

The standard of cricket has been ok although the fielding has been poor.

We should appreciate it for what it is and hope that the PCB can try to build on it next year.
 
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