Pakistan Super League 2020 News

Bangladesh star all-rounder and the captain of the T20 side, Mahmudullah Riyad has tested positive for Coronavirus infection and is likely to miss the knockout phase of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was all set to take off for Pakistan via Dubai on a flight scheduled for today but had to undergo mandatory testing for Covid-19 as per the guidelines of the Bangladesh government where he tested positive for the highly contagious virus. Mahmudullah tested himself twice to be sure about his illness and after the results, isolated himself. He has also expressed surprise at the positive covid result as he did not have fever or any other serious symptoms except a bit of cold. A cricketer much sought after in the T20 format for his excellent skills with the bat and handy off-spin, Mahmudullah was picked by the Multan Sultans as a like for like replacement for English all-rounder Moeen Ali for a postponed play-off of the PSL scheduled to take off from November 14. Multan Sultans are led by Pakistan opener in Test cricket, Shan Masood and the team had topped the points table before the pandemic had hit the tournament and the PCB postponed it to this month.

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis has confirmed his participation in the upcoming playoffs stage of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) scheduled to start from November 14. Faf du Plessis, who is fresh from a successful Indian Premier League with the bat will debut in a marquee event in the Pakistan cricket setup when he will turn up for Peshawar Zalmi. He piled on 449 runs from 13 matches with an impressive average-strike rate combo of 40.81 and 140 respectively. The Zalmi team management has roped in du Plessis as a replacement for Kieron Pollard who will be on the tour of New Zealand at the scheduled time of PSL playoffs. Faf has expressed excitement about the prospect of joining Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL 2020. “I am very excited to join Peshawar Zalmi for the playoff stage games of HBL PSL 2020. I have fond memories of playing in Pakistan when I toured with the ICC World XI in 2017 and I am sure this experience, although different due to Covid-19, will be a memorable one as well,” Faf du Plessis said about him joining the Zalmi team. The PSL had begun earlier this year in March but the coronavirus outbreak forced the PCB to halt the league and the suspended playoffs part of it has been scheduled for November 14, 15,17.