Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistan captain and all-rounder, has intimated that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) next year could probably be his final season.
Afridi is now signed with the Multan Sultans, which is his third team in the league. He has previously played for Karachi Kings (one season) and Peshawar Zalmi (two seasons), although he has expressed interest in representing Quetta Gladiators.
“Maybe this ends up being my last PSL. I would like to play for Quetta Gladiators this season, provided Multan allow me to leave. If Nadeem Omar and Quetta’s owners want to have me, I would love to represent them,” Afridi was quoted as saying to reporters.
Shahid Afridi retired from international cricket in 2016, however he continued to play in Pakistani leagues. In his second season with Peshawar Zalmi, he won the PSL, and he also played a modest role for the Multan Sultans when they won the title the previous year.
In 50 appearances in the PSL, the 44-year-old has 44 wickets at an economy rate of 6.97 runs per over. With the bat, he hasn’t been his normal self, but he continues to put in cameo appearances at a rapid clip. He has 465 runs at a 153.46 strike rate, which puts him fourth among players who have played at least 30 innings.
There was a lot of discussion on when the next PSL season would be possible to organise. In the previous two seasons, the covid-19 pandemic has impacted the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) scheduling of the PSL.
It has officially been decided that the PSL will take place in January or February of 2022. It was originally scheduled to take place in April-May, but a potential collision with the IPL would have jeopardised the league’s financial stream.
For the time being, it has been determined that the league would be held in two cities: Lahore and Karachi.