Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has announced the schedule of the Pakistan Super League season eight (PSL8) Friday.

The premier T20 tournament of Pakistan will kick off from the city of saints, Multan, from February 13. “We are going to start the tournament from Multan,” said Sethi quashing all rumours of a change in the venue for the opening ceremony.

“We have organised opening ceremonies both in Karachi and Lahore, so the decision to start the tournament from Multan is simple,” he said. “We have developed a decent fan base there and their team won the tournament once so they deserve it.”

Except for Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans, no other side as defending champions have reached the final in the biggest, highly competitive league in the cricket-playing world.

The 34-match tournament will be played in four cities – Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.

“There will be four home teams – Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans and Islamabad United,” he said. “Each of them will play five games each in their respective cities, so the fans can enjoy their home teams.”

Quetta Gladiators will play their 10 league matches in Karachi, Rawalpindi (four each), Lahore and Multan (one each), while Peshawar Zalmi’s fixtures will be in Rawalpindi (five), Karachi (three), and one each in Lahore and Multan.

The HBL PSL 8 will be held in two legs with Multan Cricket Stadium and National Bank Cricket Arena splitting matches from 13-26 February before the action shifts to the Gaddafi Stadium and Pindi Cricket Stadium where the matches will be played from 26 February to 19 March.

This includes the Qualifier, two Eliminators and the final at the home of Pakistan cricket from 15-19 March.

The Women’s league

The soft launch of the Pakistan Women’s League will also take place during the PSL8 when three exhibition matches will be played in the lead-up to the men’s matches in Rawalpindi on 8, 10 and 11 March.

The two women’s sides are expected to comprise leading local and foreign players, details of which will be announced in due course.

“The HBL PSL 8 will be a massive event for the PCB, taking place at the four iconic venues with the world’s best T20 cricketers in action,” he said. “We aim to make the PSL bigger, better and stronger than ever before with the overarching ambition to make it the first-choice event for leading T20 cricketers.”

“There will be no question on the quality of cricket that will be played in over 34 days of action-packed cricket. I am hoping the PSL will once again live up to its expectations of unearthing and identifying future stars who will not only challenge the established household names in this edition but will go on to represent Pakistan.”

PSL schedule

Afternoon matches will start at 2pm; evening matches in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi will start at 7pm. Evening matches in Multan will begin at 6pm except for the tournament opener, which will commence at 8pm)

13 Feb - Multan Sultans v Lahore Qalandars, Multan Cricket Stadium

14 Feb - Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi, National Bank Cricket Arena

15 Feb - Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators, Multan Cricket Stadium

16 Feb - Karachi Kings v Islamabad United, National Bank Cricket Arena

17 Feb - Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Cricket Stadium

18 Feb - Karachi Kings v Quetta Gladiators, National Bank Cricket Arena

19 Feb - Multan Sultans v Islamabad United, Multan Cricket Stadium; Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars, National Bank Cricket Arena

20 Feb - Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi, National Bank Cricket Arena

21 Feb - Quetta Gladiators v Lahore Qalandars, National Bank Cricket Arena

22 Feb - Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings, Multan Cricket Stadium

23 Feb - Peshawar Zalmi v Islamabad United, National Bank Cricket Arena

24 Feb - Quetta Gladiators v Islamabad United, National Bank Cricket Arena

26 Feb - Karachi Kings v Multan Sultans, National Bank Cricket Arena; Lahore Qalandars v Peshawar Zalmi, Gaddafi Stadium

27 Feb - Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United, Gaddafi Stadium

1 Mar - Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings, Pindi Cricket Stadium

2 Mar - Lahore Qalandars v Quetta Gladiators, Gaddafi Stadium

3 Mar - Islamabad United v Karachi Kings, Pindi Cricket Stadium

4 Mar - Lahore Qalandars v Multan Sultans, Gaddafi Stadium

5 Mar - Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators, Pindi Cricket Stadium

6 Mar - Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings, Pindi Cricket Stadium

7 Mar - Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Islamabad United v Multan Sultans, Pindi Cricket Stadium

8 Mar – Pakistan Women’s League Exhibition Match 1, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators, Pindi Cricket Stadium

9 Mar - Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars, Pindi Cricket Stadium

10 Mar - Pakistan Women’s League Exhibition Match 2, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Peshawar Zalmi v Multan Sultans, Pindi Cricket Stadium

11 Mar - Pakistan Women’s League Exhibition Match 3, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Quetta Gladiators v Multan Sultans, Pindi Cricket Stadium

12 Mar - Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi, Pindi Cricket Stadium; Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings, Gaddafi Stadium

15 Mar - Qualifier (1 v 2), Gaddafi Stadium

16 Mar - Eliminator 1 (3 v 4), Gaddafi Stadium

17 Mar - Eliminator 2 (loser Qualifier v winner Eliminator 1), Gaddafi Stadium

19 Mar – Final, Gaddafi Stadium