The Kashmir Premier League, which is slated to be held between August 6 and 16, will see as many as 6 franchises battling it out on the field. These include Bagh Stallions, Mirpur Royals, Muzaffarabad Tigers, Overseas Warriors, Kotli Lions, and Rawalakot Hawks. A number of marquee players will be a part of this league which is sure to attract eyeballs.
Retired stars that include Tillakaratne Dilshan, Matt Prior, and Monty Panesar will participate in the KPL. Apart from these players, current Pakistan players like Shadab Khan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed would feature in this league as part of the Bagh Stallions. Incidentally, Shadab will be leading the side. On the other hand, Owais Shah, Sharjeel Khan, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Irfan have been snapped up by Mirpur Royals, a side that will be led by Shoaib Malik.
The inaugural KPL promises to be a star-studded affair as names include Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir, and Sohaib Maqsood. Also, former Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan will feature for Muzaffarabad Tigers. Monty Panesar, who gave a great glimpse of this ability in the Road Safety Challenge series, will walk out for the Fakhar Zaman-led Kotli Lions. At the same time, Kamran Akmal, Asif Ali, and leg-spinner Usman Qadir will be part of the Kotli Lions.
Former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior will play for the Rawalakot Hawks, a side that will be captained by Shahid Afridi. Mohammad Hasnain, Ahmed Shahzad, and Hussain Talat will also play under Afridi’s captaincy.
The other team in the competition is the Overseas Warriors and it will be captained by Imad Wasim and will have the services of South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs, Haider Ali and Azam Khan.
Shehryar Khan Afridi, the Chairman of the Kashmir Committee, has said that with this league, he hopes that “sports be the best form to help in the transformation of any part of the world.”
