This Monday will see the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League kick-off in Multan, with five weeks of exciting T20 cricket action getting underway. Six teams from across Pakistan will compete in a double round-robin over the next month, with each vying to be in the top four to move through to the playoff phase of the competition in mid-March.
The Lahore Qalandars head into this season with a target on their backs, having won the 2022 Pakistan Super League. However, Multan Sultans will have something to say about that and will be looking for their second title as well this year after narrowly missing out last season. Throw in a strong Islamabad United team plus a motivated Peshawar Zalmi, and the next five weeks should produce some fantastic cricket.
We break down all the information you need to bet on PSL 2023 online in this betting preview ahead of Monday’s first match. And here is some key info for punters from all over the world and those who want to bet in Pakistan.
| Tournament: | 2023 Pakistan Super League, 8th edition of T20 cricket |
| Format: | Six teams compete in a double round-robin, top four advance to playoffs |
| Venues: | Stadiums across Pakistan |
| Dates: | Monday 13 February to Sunday 19 March 2023 |
Here’s a look at the outright winner odds from online cricket bookies for the 8th Pakistan Super League ahead of the tournament starting this Monday:
Looking at the 2023 PSL outright winner odds, it’s clear that the bookies are anticipating this will be a tight season in PSL 8. Across most online bookmakers, the Multan Sultans hold a slight edge in the betting odds at 4.33 (10/3), marginally ahead of Islamabad United, who sit at 4.50 (7/2). Both Peshawar Zalmi and the Lahore Qalandars are right behind at 5.00 (4/1) before the odds slip slightly to the Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings, who are at 6.50 (11/2) and 7.00 (6/1), respectively.
The bottom line is the bookies think any team is capable of winning the Pakistan Super League this year, and there’s no clear favorite.
This will be the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League, with the competition first launching in 2015 as part of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Teams are jointly owned by investors, as opposed to other approaches used by T20 leagues, where teams are owned individually.
Here’s a look at how the past five seasons of the PSL have unfolded:
There’s a reason why the online bookmaker odds are so even ahead of the tournament beginning this year, and that’s because, over the past seven years, six different teams have won the Pakistan Super League. Technically Islamabad United are the most successful franchise, having won the title twice – however, they haven’t made a final since 2018.
The Multan Sultans, on the other hand, have made the final the last two years, while Peshawar Zalmi have made the most finals, with four to their name.
For those who are eager to bet on the PSL 2023 online, here’s how we predict the 2023 Pakistan Super League season will pan out:
| 2023 PSL Teams | Predicted Finish |
|---|---|
| Islamabad United | Playoffs |
| Karachi Kings | Last |
| Lahore Qalandars | Playoffs |
| Multan Sultans | Champions |
| Peshawar Zalmi | Runners Up |
| Quetta Gladiators | Fifth |
To support these predictions, here’s our detailed betting preview for each of the six teams competing in the Pakistan Super League this year:
Islamabad United narrowly missed out on a berth in the final last season, losing the Eliminator 2 by six runs to Peshawar Zalmi. This year, they’ll be looking to build on their 2022 campaign and go at least one further.
We say that the PSL’s most successful team will again fall short at the playoffs stage this year. While they have some excellent local bowlers, Islamabad United appears to be lacking a little in batting power, particularly given that Alex Hales will be unavailable for part of the PSL.
Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Colin Munro, Paul Stirling, Rumman Raees, Sohaib Maqsood, Hassan Nawaz, Zeeshan Zamir, Moeen Ali, and Mubasir Khan.
Last season, the Karachi Kings broke records – and not in a good way. After becoming the first team to only win one match in a season, the Kings will be eager to bounce back strong and make the playoffs this year.
We think they will struggle to get this far, however. While they have some good overseas purchases in the likes of Andrew Tye and James Vince, they’ve lost their best player in Babar Azam and appear to have a fragile batting lineup. Expect this season to be better in terms of wins, but still not what the Kings would want.
Imad Wasim, Haider Ali, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Imran Tahir, Matthew Wade, Shoaib Malik, Aamer Yamin, James Fuller, James Vince, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Akhlaq, Irfan Khan Niazi, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Umar, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ben Cutting, Musa Khan, and Faisal Akram.
Last year’s defending champions pulled off the upset of the season in 2022, defeating a hot Multan Sultans team who looked to already have one hand on the trophy. Such is the beauty of T20 cricket, but can the Qalandars back up their 2022 title?
This will depend if captain Shaheen Afridi staying fit. Do so, and he can combine with the likes of Rashid Khan and Sikandar Raza for a formidable bowling lineup. With young English star Harry Brook only available for part of the PSL 2023, they’ll need their Pakistani batters to stand up. Expect Lahore to make the playoffs, at least.
Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Abdullah Shafique, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Zaman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, Liam Dawson, Dilbar Hussain, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ahmed Danlyal, Shawaiz Irfan, Jordan Cox, and Jalat Khan.
Having been the most consistent performer of the past three PSL seasons, can the Multan Sultans avenge last year’s final upset and claim their second PSL title? We say they’re a fantastic chance of doing so and are our pick for the title this year.
In-form beasts from South Africa, David Miller & Rilee Rossouw, will combine with Tim David and Mohammad Rizwan to form a powerful batting lineup, while Akeal Hosein and Josh Little will pair with a host of Pakistani bowlers with the ball. We believe the Sultans have the winning recipe here and will take some beating.
David Miller, Josh Little, Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw, Shan Masood, Akeal Hosein, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tim David, Anwar Ali, Sameen Gul, Sarwar Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah, Adil Rashid, and Arafat Minhas.
After finishing third last year, Peshawar Zalmi were ousted in the first Eliminator Final. They’ll want to make amends for that and make their fifth final in eight years and are looking good to do so in 2023.
The big news out of the Peshawar camp is the acquisition of Pakistani star Babar Azam, who moves across from the Kings. With the likes of Haris Sohail, Usman Qadir, and Jimmy Neesham, Zalmi may well have the team to go further this year and meet Multan in the final.
Babar Azam, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Aamer Jamal, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Haseebullah Khan, Khurram Shahzad, Richard Gleeson, Peter Hatzoglou Sufyan Muqeem, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Usman Qadir, Jimmy Neesham, and Haris Sohail.
The 2022 PSL saw the Quetta Gladiators finish in fifth place, narrowly missing a playoff berth by net run rate. It’s hard to see the Gladiators doing any better than fifth this year as well.
While they do have the brilliant Wanindu Hasaranga, and some strong Pakistani national players, they will be without Jason Roy for a good portion of the season due to his international commitments with England. Add Martin Guptill’s lack of form to this, and it will take a bit of magic to see Quetta improve on their 2022 result.
Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Naveen ul Haq, Umar Akmal, Will Smeed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Naseem Shah, Odean Smith, Ahsan Ali, Umaid Asif, Muhammad Zahid, Abdul Bangalzai, Aimal Khan, Martin Guptill, and Omair Bin Yousuf.
Translating our season prediction into some concrete PSL 2023 betting tips, those who are looking to bet in Pakistan may want to make the following wagers:
It’s Sultan’s year this season, and so think most of the experts across different cricket tips & predictions. Across the past three attempts, they’ve finished third, first, and second and have looked like the most consistent team in the PSL by far. Add to this the fact that they have a strong team put together this year with some excellent overseas players backed by quality local talent, and we say that the Sultans are a great bet to win their second PSL title in 2023.
If Multan somehow manage to throw away another title opportunity like they did last season, we say it will be at the hands of Peshawar Zalmi. Zalmi have made four finals across the last seven seasons of the PSL, more than any other team. Last season they were a respectable third in the standings before losing the first Eliminator Final, but with the addition of Babar Azam, there’s a good chance Peshawar could go all the way this year.
For those who are after a more immediate return on their betting, why not throw down a bet on the opening game of the PSL 2023 season? It’s a cracking match between this year’s favorites to win and last year’s champions – a repeat of the 2022 final. Multan won this game on the opening weekend of the PSL last year, and we say they’ll get their campaign off to a strong start and do it again this year. With odds of 1.72 (8/11), this is a great way to get some quick returns from the PSL 2023 betting.
Monday will see the Pakistan Super League commence, with teams from across Pakistan vying to be the next PSL champions. While the Lahore Qalandars are the defending champions, we say that the Multan Sultans will defeat them in the opening game of the tournament, setting a statement for what could well be a title-winning campaign in 2023.
