Pakistan's renowned singer Ali Zafar has missed out on singing the anthem for the 9th season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) even as the PCB had contacted him first for the same. According to a report by Cricket Pakistan.pk, a high-ranking stakeholder had also committed to Ali Zafar and had began his preparations full throttle.
Ali had lent his voice to the T20 league's anthem for their first three seasons; however, things took a turn for the worse in the year 2018 when singer Meesha Shafi accused the fellow professional of harassment. Despite the lack of plausible evidence to support the allegations, the 43-year-old has failed to secure the gig with PSL.
A female official of the PSL franchise has reportedly raised objections, saying that roping in Ali Zafar could hamper the tournament's image; hence, PCB has reversed its decision. The apex body of Pakistan cricket is yet to decide who they will replace Ali with.
PSL 9th edition to begin on February 17th:
The 9th season of the tournament will begin from February 17th and will run till March 18th, with defending champions Lahore Qalandars set to face two-time title winners Islamabad United. 4 cities in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi will host the fixtures, with the final set to take place in Karachi.
Karachi will also stage the most number of matches (11), including the qualifier, two eliminators, and the decider. The 34-match tournament will take place in two legs as Multan and Lahore will host 14 matches, while Rawalpindi and Karachi will stage the remaining 16.
