Match officials for PSL 8 announced
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday that 19 people have been hired as officials for the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which starts on February 13.
In its press release, the PCB gave a list of the 14 people who will be umpires for the games and the five people who will be referees.
The statement said, “Aleem Dar, Richard Illingworth, and Michael Gough, three of the best umpires in the ICC, will be joined by Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob, Rashid Riaz, Faisal Khan Afridi, Martin Saggers, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Alex Wharf, and Shozab Raza.”
“Muhammad Asif, Roshan Mahanama, and Tariq Rasheed, who will play the role of the fourth umpire, will help them.”
The statement also talked briefly about what some of the named officials had been through.
It said that Wharf, who has played 13 ODIs for England, and Saggers, who has played three Tests for England, will make their PSL debuts along with Palliyaguruge from Sri Lanka.
All three are part of the international panel of umpires for the ICC.
The statement also said that Gough would be taking part in PSL 8 for the fourth time, while Illingworth would be taking part for the sixth time.
It also said that Roshan Mahanama, a former member of the ICC’s elite panel of match referees, would return to the PSL for the eighth straight year and lead a team of match referees that includes Ali Naqvi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Javed Malik, and Muhammad Anees.
In the announcement, it said, “The opening match between the defending champion Lahore Qalandars and the Multan Sultans will be in Multan. Asif Yaqoob and Martin Saggers will be the umpires.”
“Faisal Afridi will be the third umpire, while Shozab Raza will be the fourth.” Mohammad Anees will be in charge of the match.”
The statement also said that Ali Naqvi would be in charge of the Playing Control Team for the game on February 14 between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi. On-field umpires would be Ahsan Raza and Alex Wharf of England. Ruchira Palliyaguruge and Tariq Rasheed would be the third and fourth umpires for the match.