PSL 2024 important for T20 World Cup selection - Shahid Afridi sends message to Pakistan players

Former Pakistan all-rounder and captain Shahid Afridi who played an imperative role in the team’s success during the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup in England, wished all the luck to the current national players who are gearing up to take part in the 9th edition of the country’s mega cricketing event – the Pakistan Super League which starts from later today.

Shahid Afridi took to X(formerly Twitter) to express his best wishes to the players and claimed that it will be important for the national team to send scouting teams in order to find out any new talent from the league as well as monitor those who are already centrally contracted for the upcoming 2024 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, set to start from June onwards.

The Green Army will be under the captaincy of Shaheen Afridi for the first time in a major ICC tournament, even if his tenure as the T20I captain did not get off to the best of starts in what was his first bilateral assignment in New Zealand where Pakistan lost a 5-match series by 4-1.

It will be interesting to see how Shaheen leads the team and if he is able to lead the team towards their 3rd successive appearance in the knockouts. Pakistan under Babar Azam’s leadership had reached the semi-finals of the 2021 edition before going all the way to the final in the previous edition (2022) in Australia and losing to eventual champions England.

Shahid Afridi who himself knows what it feels like to be a part of an ICC event-winning team, stated that PSL 9 will be key to their T20 World Cup plans and also passed on his wishes.

“To select the best players for the T20 world cup this summer, PSL9 is a key tournament! I wish every player the best of luck, give your best we are counting on you.” – Afridi wrote on his X handle. 

“PSL is my favorite” – Shahid Afridi applauds the league’s bowling quality

Shahid Afridi also revealed that despite playing in various different T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL, Global T20 Canada, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, and Big Bash League among others, the PSL remains his favorite franchise tournament as he feels that there is high-quality bowling and nail-biting contests on offer.

“Having played leagues across the world, PSL is my favourite for the high quality bowling & intense matches,” Afridi concluded. 

Having played leagues across the 🌏 @thePSLt20 is my favourite for the high quality bowling & intense matches. To select the best payers for @T20WorldCup this summer, the #HBLPSL9 is a key tournament! I wish every player the best of luck, give your best we are counting on you!

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) February 17, 2024

Meanwhile, season 9 of the Pakistan Super League begins tonight with a clash between last year’s finalists Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars at the Gaddafi Stadium from 7:00 pm onwards. All of the 34 matches including the league and knockout stages will be played in Lahore, the Multan Cricket Stadium, the National Bank Arena in Karachi, and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Karachi will be hosting the most number of matches – 11, including the entire play-off stages while Lahore and Rawalpindi will host 9 matches each and Multan will host the least number of matches  – 5. Pakistan’s biggest cricketing stars will grace the tournament, so don’t miss the action.