The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the match officials for the HBL Pakistan Super League 9 scheduled to be played at four venues from February 17 to March 18. A total of 14 matches will be played from February 17 to 27 across Lahore and Multan, while Karachi and Rawalpindi will play 16 matches from February 28 to March 12.
Match officials for the qualifiers, two knockouts and the final, to be held in Karachi from March 14-18, will be announced in due course.
The four members of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires – Richard Illingworth, Chris Gaffaney, Ahsan Raza and Michael Gough – will be accompanied by Abdul Moqeet, Aleem Dar, Tariq Rasheed, Shozab Raza, Rashid Riaz, Faisal Afridi, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Asif Yaqoob, Alex Wharf, Nasir Hussain, Imran Jawed and Muhammad Asif.
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Among the foreign referees, Illingworth, who has served in six editions of the league in the past, has officiated in 48 matches in the HBL PSL. England’s Gough, who has featured in four editions in the past, has played 34 matches, followed by Wharf (11 matches) and Sri Lanka’s Palliyaguruge (three matches). New Zealander Gaffaney will make his debut in the league and will play his first match between Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan on February 18.
Roshan Mahanama, who has officiated 97 HBL PSL matches and is also a former member of the ICC’s Elite Match Referee Panel, will be leading the team of three match referees for the ninth consecutive year, with Ali Naqvi and Muhammad Javed as other members. .
