Ihsanullah stuns the cricket world and is crowned PSL 8 player as the Sultans win prizes
LAHORE: Fast bowler by Ihsanullah Multan Sultanswho was selected in the Emerging category, was voted PSL 8 Player by an independent panel led by Mr. Haroon Rashid (PSL 8 Technical Committee Chairman) with distinguished commentators Bazid Khan, Daren Ganga, Nick Knight and Sana appointed Mir as members.
Ihsanullah is the first player from the up-and-coming category to beat the more experienced and established stars in the grueling competition for the prestigious award. The previous seven winners of this award are: Ravi Bopara (2016, Karachi Kings), Kamran Akmal (2017, Peshawar Zalmi), Luke Ronchi (2018, Islamabad United), Shane Watson (2019, Quetta Gladiators), Babar Azam (2020, Karachi Kings), Sohaib Maqsood (2021, Multan Sultans) and Mohammed Rizwan (2022, Multan Sultans).
Ihsanullah had numbers of two for 37, five for 12, three for 24, two for 19, none for 17, two for 22, two for 33, two for 35, none for 35, two for 58, one for 18 and one for 37 in 12 games. He finished the streak with 22 wickets at an economy rate of 7.59.
As a result of those consistent performances, which also earned him his first call-up to the Pakistan side for the Afghanistan T20Is, the lanky fast bowler was also declared a PSL 8 bowler. Previous winners of this award are: Andre Russell (2016), Sohail Khan (2017), Faheem Ashraf (2018), Hasan Ali (2019), Shaheen Shah Afridi (2020), Shahnawaz Dahani (2021) and Shadab Khan (2022).
Multan Sultan’s captain Mohammad Rizwan was settled as a PSL 8 batter after winning the Hanif Mohammad Cap for top scorer of the tournament. Rizwan finished the competition with 550 runs at a batting average of 142.85 with a century and four-half centuries. Previous winners of this award are: Umar Akmal (2016), Kamran Akmal (2017 & 2018), Shane Watson (2019), Babar Azam (2020), Sohaib Maqsood (2021) and Fakhar Zaman (2022).
Rizwan also grabbed the wicketkeeper from PSL 8. He had 14 batters (13 catches and a stump).
There was more good news for Multan Sultans as 21-year-old Abbas Afridi won the Emerging Player of the PSL 8 and Kieron Pollard received the Best Fielder of PSL 8 award.
Abbas finished as the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets at an economy rate of 9.45 with two four-fers and a hat-trick. This category was introduced in 2019 and the previous four winners are Umer Khan (2019), Haider Ali (2020), Shahnawaz Dahani (2021) and Zaman Khan (2022).
Alex Wharf was named PSL 8’s referee, while Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim was named PSL 8’s all-rounder.
The plucky left-hander hit 404 runs at a strike rate of over 170 and also claimed nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.93. Imad had led the Kings’ campaign but received little support from his teammates, resulting in the 2020 champions failing to qualify for the playoffs. Nonetheless, his impressive performance helped him reclaim his place in the national team for the three-T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
Full list of award winners:
PSL 8 Player of the Tournament – Ihsanullah (Multan Sultans) (22 wickets, austerity rate 7.59)
Dough from PSL 8 –Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) (550 runs, 142.5 batting average)
Bowlers from PSL 8 – Ihsanullah (Multan Sultans) (22 wickets, austerity rate 7.59)
Outfield players from PSL 8 – Kieron Pollard (Multan Sultans) (11 catches)
Wicketkeeper of PSL 8 – Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) (14 dismissals)
Up and coming player of PSL 8 – Abbas Afridi (Multan Sultans) (23 wickets, austerity rate 9.45)
All-rounder from PSL 8 – Imad Wasim (Karachi Kings) (404 runs and nine wickets)
spirit of grilling – Peshawar Zalmi
Referee of PSL 8 – Alex Wharf
