KARACHI: The last eight matches of the total 34 matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2019, will be played in Pakistan – with three in Lahore and five in Karachi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed on Friday while announcing the schedule for the fourth edition of the cricket league through a media release. The final is set to held on March 17, 2019 in Karachi. The schedule was also shared by the franchises on Twitter. The matches set to be held in Karachi will be played at the city’s National Stadium while the matches in Lahore will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium. The tournament will kick-off with an opening match in Dubai on Feb 14, between defending champions Islamabad United and the sixth-ranked team, formerly Multan Sultans, whose contract was terminated by the PCB due to their inability to meet their financial obligations under the PSL agreement. In addition to the matches scheduled to be played domestically, 14 matches will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, four at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and eight matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. “The PCB believes the HBL PSL is a gateway to resumption of international cricket in Pakistan. By successfully staging eight matches in Lahore and Karachi with the support of the local authorities, the PCB is optimistic that it will once again prove to the world that Pakistan is as safe and secure a place as any other part of the world to play international cricket,” the press release stated. South Africa’s AB de Villiers and Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe, who will wear Lahore Qalandars’ kit, and Steve Smith of Australia, who will represent the Sixth team, are three of the 19 players expected to make their PSL debuts in 2019. The others 16 are: Fawad Ahmed, Qais Ahmed, Corey Anderson, Ian Bell, Dan Christian, Ben Dunk, Laurie Evans, Harry Gurney, Liam Livingstone, Wayne Madsen, Tom Moores, Sandeep Lamichanne, Wayne Parnell, Sikander Raza, Waqar Salamkheil and Phil Salt. Published in Daily Times, December 15th 2018.