2021 Kashmir Premier League
The 2021 Kashmir Premier League was the inaugural season of the Kashmir Premier League which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The tournament featured six teams and was held from 6 August 2021 to 17 August 2021 in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. The opening ceremony and first match of the tournament were held at the Muzaffarabad Stadium on 6 August 2021.[1]
| Dates | 6 August 2021 – 17 August 2021 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Single round-robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) |  Pakistan |
| Champions | Rawalakot Hawks (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Muzaffarabad Tigers |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 19 |
| Most runs | Sharjeel Khan (MR) (296) |
| Most wickets | Salman Irshad (MR) (16) |
| Official website | https://kpl20.com/ |
The final was held on 17 August and saw Rawalakot Hawks defeating Muzaffarabad Tigers by 8 runs to win the first title.[2] Asif Afridi of Rawalakot Hawks was awarded the man of the match award for his bowling figures of 3/21.
Squads
Controversy
On 31 July 2021, it was reported that foreign cricketers were requested by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) against taking part in the inaugural Kashmir Premier League (KPL) cricket tournament.[3][4] Former Pakistani wicket keeper Rashid Latif tweeted that BCCI is warning other cricket boards that if their former players took part in Kashmir Premier League, they won't be allowed entry in India or allowed to work in Indian cricket at any level or in any capacity. Former South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs, who played for the Overseas Warriors, also accused BCCI of pressuring him to not play in the KPL.[5][6] The Pakistan cricket board (PCB) expressed displeasure at the reports that BCCI is trying to prevent players from joining the tournament and said that it would raise the issue with the relevant ICC forum.[7][8] Responding to Gibbs and the PCB, the BCCI said that they are well within their rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in India.[9][10]
On 1 August 2021, former England spinner Monty Panesar pulled out of the tournament. He took to Twitter to reveal the news and said that, "I have decided not to participate in the KPL because of the political tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issues. I don't want to be in the middle of this, it would make me feel uncomfortable."[11][12][13][14] Panesar further said in an interview that "BCCI had 'advised' him that if he played in the event, the 'consequences' of his decision could include not being granted a visa to India in the future and not being allowed to work in the country."[15][16][17]
Promotion and media coverage
The brand ambassador of the KPL is Shahid Afridi and the official singer is Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Anthem
The official anthem of the KPL, “The Aazadi Anthem” was released on 16 February 2021 and it was sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.[18]
Slogan
The slogan of the KPL was revealed to be “Khelo Aazadi Se”.
Venues
The whole tournament took place in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir.[21]
| Muzaffarabad | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium | |||
| Capacity: 10,000 | |||
 | |||
League Stage
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rawalakot Hawks (C) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0.228 |
| 2 | Muzaffarabad Tigers (R) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0.530 |
| 3 | Mirpur Royals (3rd) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −0.323 |
| 4 | Overseas Warriors (4th) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −0.032 |
| 5 | Bagh Stallions | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −0.201 |
| 6 | Kotli Lions | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | −0.107 |
- Top 4 teams qualified for the playoffs
- Advanced to Qualifier
- Advanced to Eliminator 1
Notes:
- C = Champions;
- R = Runner-up;
- (x) = Position at the end of the tournament;
Fixtures
Rawalakot Hawks 194/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Mirpur Royals 151/8 (20 overs) |
- Mirpur Royals won the toss and elected to field.
Kotli Lions 169 (20 overs) |
v |
Bagh Stallions 172/5 (19.4 overs) |
- Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to bat.
Overseas Warriors 153/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Muzaffarabad Tigers 156/3 (17.2 overs) |
- Overseas Warriors won the toss and elected to bat.
Bagh Stallions 211/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Mirpur Royals 196/8 (20 overs) |
- Mirpur Royals won the toss and elected to field.
Overseas Warriors 145/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Mirpur Royals 146/5 (18.1 overs) |
- Overseas Warriors won the toss and elected to bat
Rawalakot Hawks 175/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Muzaffarabad Tigers 174/8 (20 overs) |
- Rawalakot Hawks won the toss and elected to bat
Kotli Lions 195/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Muzaffarabad Tigers 196/5 (18.3 overs) |
- Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to bat
- Zeeshan Ashraf scored the first century in KPL history
Bagh Stallions 186/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Overseas Warriors 190/5 (19.2 overs) |
- Bagh Stallions won the toss and elected to bat
Bagh Stallions 156/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Rawalakot Hawks 157/5 (18.2 overs) |
- Bagh Stallions won the toss and elected to bat
Mirpur Royals 211/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Kotli Lions 211/8 (20 overs) |
- Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to field
Bagh Stallions 213/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Muzaffarabad Tigers 214/6 (18.4 overs) |
Sohaib Maqsood 59 (40) Aamir Sohail 2/37 (4 overs) |
- Muzaffarabad Tigers won the toss and elected to field
Rawalakot Hawks 145/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Overseas Warriors 133/3 (13.1 overs) |
- Overseas Warriors won the toss and elected to field
- Target reduced to 133 from 18 overs
Overseas Warriors 211/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Kotli Lions 215/2 (19 overs) |
- Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to field
Muzaffarabad Tigers 227/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Mirpur Royals 231/5 (19.4 overs) |
- Muzaffarabad Tigers won the toss and elected to field
- Mohammad Hafeez scored his first century in the KPL
Playoffs
| Preliminary | Final | |||||||||||
| 17 August — Muzaffarabad | ||||||||||||
| 14 August — Muzaffarabad | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Muzaffarabad Tigers | 164/8 (20 overs) | ||||||||||
| 2 | Rawalakot Hawks | 157 (19.4 overs) | 2 | Rawalakot Hawks | 169/7 (20 overs) | |||||||
| Muzaffarabad Tigers won by 7 runs | 1 | Muzaffarabad Tigers | 161/9 (20 overs) | |||||||||
| Rawalakot Hawks won by 8 runs | ||||||||||||
| 16 August — Muzaffarabad | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mirpur Royals | 236/4 (20 overs) | ||||||||||
| 2 | Rawalakot Hawks | 237/6 (19.4 overs) | ||||||||||
| Rawalakot Hawks won by 4 wickets | ||||||||||||
| 15 August — Muzaffarabad | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Overseas Warriors | 160/9 (20 overs) | ||||||||||
| 4 | Mirpur Royals | 162/6 (18.4 overs) | ||||||||||
| Mirpur Royals won by 4 wickets | ||||||||||||
Qualifier 1
Muzaffarabad Tigers 164/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Rawalakot Hawks 157 (19.4 overs) |
- Rawalakot Hawks won the toss and elected to field
Eliminator 1
Overseas Warriors 160/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Mirpur Royals 162/6 (18.4 overs) |
- Mirpur Royals won the toss and elected to field
- As a result of this match Mirpur Royals advanced to eliminator 2.
- As a result of this match Overseas Warriors were eliminated from the competition.
Eliminator 2
Mirpur Royals 236/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Rawalakot Hawks 237/6 (19.4 overs) |
- Rawalakot Hawks won the toss and elected to field
- As a result of this match Rawalakot Hawks advanced to the final.
- As a result of this match Mirpur Royals were eliminated from the competition.
- Sharjeel Khan and Kashif Ali scored their first centuries in the KPL
Final
Rawalakot Hawks 169/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Muzaffarabad Tigers 161/9 (20 overs) |
- Muzaffarabad Tigers won the toss and elected to field
- Rawalakot Hawks won the first edition of the KPL as a result of this match
Awards and Statistics
Most runs
| Player | Team | Mat | Inns | Runs | Ave | SR | HS | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharjeel Khan |
Mirpur Royals | 6 | 6 | 296 | 49.33 | 190.96 | 141 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Zeeshan Ashraf |
Muzaffarabad Tigers | 7 | 7 | 284 | 47.33 | 165.11 | 107* | 1 | 0 | 37 | 13 | |||||||||||||
| Shan Masood |
Bagh Stallions | 5 | 5 | 254 | 50.80 | 144.31 | 78 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Kashif Ali |
Rawalakot Hawks | 7 | 7 | 242 | 48.40 | 174.10 | 114* | 1 | 2 | 21 | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Shoaib Malik |
Mirpur Royals | 7 | 7 | 240 | 48.00 | 133.33 | 77 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Source: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Most wickets
| Player | Team | Mat | Inns | Wkts | Ave | Econ | BBI | SR | 4WI | 5WI | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salman Irshad |
Mirpur Royals | 7 | 7 | 16 | 15.18 | 8.67 | 3/25 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Asif Afridi |
Rawalakot Hawks | 7 | 7 | 12 | 15.16 | 7.00 | 3/21 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Amad Butt |
Mirpur Royals | 7 | 7 | 11 | 19.54 | 8.60 | 3/20 | 13.6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Zaman Khan |
Rawalakot Hawks | 6 | 6 | 10 | 17.80 | 7.73 | 3/18 | 13.8 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Umaid Asif |
Bagh Stallions | 5 | 5 | 9 | 19.22 | 9.43 | 3/20 | 12.2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Source: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
Notes
- Originally Shadab Khan was appointed as the captain of the team but later on, Shan Masood took over as captain in place of Shadab Khan who was occupied with the national team
References
- "KPL kicks off with beautiful opening ceremony". Bol.
- "Muzaffarabad Tigers vs Rawalakot Hawks Scorecard". Cricinfo.
- Ghani, Faras. "India 'threatening cricketers' signed up for Kashmir tournament". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Rashid Latif, Herschelle Gibbs slam BCCI for allegedly warning cricket boards against participation in the Kashmir Premier League". www.news18.com. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Herschelle Gibbs accuses BCCI of pressuring him to not play in Kashmir Premier League". Hindustan Times. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Gibbs accuses BCCI of pressuring him to not play in Kashmir".
- Dawn.com (31 July 2021). "PCB to move ICC against Indian cricket board for pressuring cricketers against playing in Kashmir Premier League". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "PCB vs BCCI over Kashmir Premier League". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- Bureau, ABP News (2 August 2021). "Kashmir Premier League: After PCB, Shahid Afridi Makes Serious Allegations Against BCCI". news.abplive.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- Dawn.com (1 August 2021). "'Well within our rights': BCCI on allegation that it's threatening Kashmir league participants". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- "https://twitter.com/montypanesar/status/1421901772252237828". Twitter. Retrieved 3 August 2021. External link in
|title=(help) - "England's Monty Panesar excuses from participating in KPL due to BCCI threat". Dunya News. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- "Yahoo Cricket". cricket.yahoo.net. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- "Monty Panesar Pulls Out From KPL, 'I Would Have Lost a Huge Opportunity in India'". www.news18.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- Ghaffar, Abdul (3 August 2021). "Not our jurisdiction: ICC on BCCI's attempt to have Kashmir Premier League unrecognised". Dawn (Newspaper). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- "Yahoo Cricket". cricket.yahoo.net. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- "India threatened me through ECB against joining KPL 2021, Monty Panesar says". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- "The Aazadi Anthem". Kashmir Premier League. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- "KPL kicks off with beautiful opening ceremony". Bol.
- "Congratulations to all three winners of the Speech Competition held by President AJK Sardar Masood Khan between different universities of AJK". Twitter.
- "Kashmir Premier League 2021: Schedule, time, venue and all details inside". Geo Super.