Lahore: A breathtaking musical show and a colorful view of fireworks during an impressive ceremony marked the start of the 10th edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium Friday.

The night promised a mix of music, fireworks and cricketing voltage when PSL started its milestone season in style. This is the first time that Rawalpindi is hosting the first game in the league.

Among the star-studded series of artists were the legendary Abida Parveen, Pop Sensation Ali Zafar, Natasha Baig and the Chart-topping Rap Duo Young Stunners-ALL set the stage on fire with their electrifying actions at the opening ceremony.

After the ceremony, the defending Masters Islamabad United will take on two-time winners of the trophy, Lahore Qalandars, in the opening match for the tournament.

The tournament of the 34 match consists of three double headers scheduled on April 12, May 1 and May 10, while the remaining fixtures will take place over Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawal Pindi.

The six teams are locking horns to remove the $ 500,000 prize money for the winners, while the runners up will be awarded $ 200,000. PSL X Draft, which took place on January 13, gave the six franchises an opportunity to renovate their troops in front of the historic tenth edition.

The newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is ready to host 13 PSL X matches, including the qualification, eliminator and the 18th of May final. Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hosts 11 matches, while Multan Cricket Stadium and National Bank Stadium will witness five PSL X matches every this season.

Babar Azam, the leading run scorer in HBL PSL with 3,504 races to his name, HBL PSL PSL 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi. Australia’s David Warner will be the fourth overseas player to lead the 2020 champions Karachi Kings after Ravi Bopara, Kumar Sangakkara and Eoin Morgan.

Mohammad Rizwan, who led Multan Sultans to honor in the 2021 edition in Abu Dhabi, will continue to rule as the Sultans’ skipper, after doing so 48 times in the previous four HBL PSL editions. Quetta’s Saud Shakeel will take the joy of the Gladiators from Rilee Rossouw.

Shadab Khan, who has led Islamabad United in 55 HBL PSL matches so far, has also been entrusted with leadership tasks for HBL PSL X, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, the only captain who has won consecutive HBL PSL titles, will be responsible for Lahore Qalandars.

In HBL PSL 2024, Islamabad United came up winners and sacked the title for the third time, while Multan Sultans ended up as runners for the third time in a row.

‘FOolfast security’

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi police have made foolproof security arrangements for PSL 2025.

According to a spokesman, the security arrangements were taken in coordination with the Pakistani army, rangers and other security agencies.

“Over 5,000 police staff along with more than 367 traffic police staff will perform security tasks,” the spokesman said.

Regional police officer Babar Sarfraz Alpa and the city police officer Syed Khalid Hamdani along with other high officers were in the field to oversee the events, he added.

Special police teams, including dolphin power and elite force staff, were deployed around the stadium and its surroundings, the spokesman said.

A special control room, he added, had been set up to monitor the stadium and its surroundings and the whole city through Safe City and other CCTV cameras.

He said the experts were deployed on the rooftops around the stadium and the teams’ route.

The spokesman also said that visitors were allowed to enter the stadium through a review and full body search.