How PSL has reignited the passion for cricket in Hyderabad

For young cricketers, the induction of Hyderabad in PSL marks the return of cricket to the city.

“Hyderabad, are you ready!” screams a poster with a mugshot of Fawad Sarwar Khan ahead of February 7’s mega event of his Pakistan Super League (PSL) team.

The 11th edition of PSL — which has entered its second decade since its launch — is scheduled to begin on March 26. Fawad’s newly acquired Hyderabad team will feature this season as the seventh team.

The team’s logo and name will be unveiled on Saturday evening with great fanfare during a ceremony at the historic Niaz Stadium.

Posters of Fawad and other team staff are hanging on a row of trees off Thandi Sarak and other locations.

Former Australian coach Jason Gillespie is likely to attend the ceremony as Hyderabad team’s head coach — first ever appearance of any international former cricket of this stature in the last over one and a half decades in the stadium.

Saim Ayub, who recently made it to the list of top T20I all-rounders thanks to his stellar performance, is said to have been picked for Hyderabad.

Vibes are that Fawad’s management is said to be in contact with Sameer Minhas, a Pakistan U-19 player and Saad Khan from Hyderabad in the “emerging” category. A final decision is awaited.

Fawad Sarwar Khan is a Hyderabad native, now settled in the United States.

By buying this franchise for PSL, he has indeed given the people of Hyderabad, Sindh’s second largest city, a cause to celebrate or, in fact, a sense of ownership to this city where talent is thriving in streets, roads and neighbourhoods. But such potential remains largely untapped.

While two teams – Sialkot and Hyderabad – are sold, hype over Hyderabad’s team is seemingly unusual.

Posters for Saturday’s PSL Hyderabad team event hang