By Zainab Shafiq 
The Pakistan Cricket Board has recently disclosed the names of umpires who will be officiating the 8th season of HBL Pakistan Super League. The tournament, which will run from February 13 to March 19, will take place across four venues, with 20 matches set to be played in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Umpire Lineup
The umpire panel includes three members from the ICC’s elite panel, Aleem Dar, Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough, who will be joined by Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob, Rashid Riaz, Faisal Khan Afridi, Martin Saggers, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Alex Wharf, and Shozab Raza. They will receive support from Muhammad Asif, Nasir Hussain, and Tariq Rasheed, who will serve as fourth umpires.
Match Referees
The tournament will also feature a team of five match referees, led by Roshan Mahanama, a former member of the ICC’s elite panel. Other members include Ali Naqvi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Javed Malik, and Muhammad Anees.
Debutants
Alex Wharf, who played 13 ODIs for England, Martin Saggers, who featured in three Tests for England, and Ruchira Palliyaguruge of Sri Lanka, will all be making their HBL PSL debuts. They are all members of the ICC’s international panel of umpires.
Experience
For Michael Gough, this will be his fourth HBL PSL appearance, while Richard Illingworth will be making his sixth appearance in the tournament.
Opening Match Officials
The opening match between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, which will take place in Multan, will be officiated by Asif Yaqoob and Martin Saggers, with Faisal Afridi serving as the third umpire and Shozab Raza as the fourth umpire. Mohammad Anees will be the match referee. In the match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi, Ali Naqvi will lead the Playing Control Team, while the on-field umpires will be Ahsan Raza and Alex Wharf, Ruchira Palliyaguruge as the third umpire and Tariq Rasheed as the fourth umpire.