# 2021 Kashmir Premier League (Pakistan)

The 2021 Kashmir Premier League (also known as 2021 KPL or, for sponsorship reasons, SRG KPL 2021), 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, Azad Kashmir. The opening ceremony and first match of the tournament were held at the Muzaffarabad Stadium on 6 August 2021.
The final was held on 17 August and saw Rawalakot Hawks defeating Muzaffarabad Tigers by 8 runs to win the first title. Asif Afridi of Rawalakot Hawks was awarded the man of the match award for his bowling figures of 3/21.

## Franchises

| Team | Owner | City | Captain | Coach |
| Bagh Stallions | Hameed Khan & Tauqir Sultan Awan | Bagh | Shan Masood | Abdul Rehman |
| Kotli Lions | Faisal Nadeem, Khalid Zia and Nasir Yousuf | Kotli | Kamran Akmal | Abdul Razzaq |
| Mirpur Royals | Adil Waheed & Suleman Raza | Mirpur | Shoaib Malik | Inzamam-ul-Haq |
| Muzaffarabad Tigers | Arshad Khan Tanoli | Muzaffarabad | Mohammad Hafeez | Mohtashim Rasheed |
| Overseas Warriors | Muhammad Zakir Ali | Kashmiri diaspora | Imad Wasim | Mushtaq Ahmed |
| Rawalakot Hawks | Jan Wali Shaheen | Rawalakot | Shahid Afridi | Arshad Khan |

## Squads

Squads :
| Bagh Stallions | Kotli Lions | Mirpur Royals | Muzaffarabad Tigers | Overseas Warriors | Rawalakot Hawks |
| Shan Masood (c) Shadab Khan Phil Mustard (wk) Iftikhar Ahmed Umaid Asif Rohail Nazir (wk) Mohammad Ilyas Mohammad Imran Zeeshan Malik Usman Mughal Zeeshan Zameer Furqan Shafique Sufyan Moqeem Mohammad Junaid Amir Sohail | Kamran Akmal (c) (wk) Fakhar Zaman Monty Panesar Asif Ali Usman Qadir Imran Khan Akif Javed Khalid Usman Irfanullah Shah Junaid Ali Abdullah Syed Syed Hashim Ali Hasan Raza Yasir Jan Abdul Rehman | Shoaib Malik (c) Owais Shah Sharjeel Khan Khushdil Shah Mohammad Irfan Salman Irshad Amad Butt Mukhtar Ahmed Abrar Ahmed Muhammad Akhlaq (wk) Shadab Majeed Danyal Allah Ditta Muhammad Taha Ibtesam-ul-Haq Ammad Alam | Mohammad Hafeez (c) Tillakaratne Dilshan Sohail Tanvir Sohaib Maqsood Mohammad Wasim Arshad Iqbal Zeeshan Ashraf (wk) Sohail Akhtar Usama Mir Anwar Ali Arsalan Arif Tahir Hussain Inzamam-ul-Haq Usman Arshad Taimoor Sultan | Imad Wasim (c) Muhammad Musa Haris Sohail Herschelle Gibbs Haider Ali Azam Khan (wk) Sohail Khan Qasim Akram Hammad Azam Naveed Malik Waleed Ahmed Raza-ul-Mustafa Abbas Afridi Rashid Naseer Uthman Ali Khan | Shahid Afridi (c) Matt Prior (wk) Mohammad Hasnain Hussain Talat Ahmed Shehzad Danish Aziz Waqas Maqsood Zafar Gohar Bismillah Khan (wk) Imran Randhawa Kashif Ali Faisal Altaf Zaman Khan Samiullah Afridi Shahid Ilyas |

## Promotion in media

The league was promoted on social media by the hashtag #KheloAazadiSe. The brand ambassador of the 2021 KPL was Shahid Afridi and the official singer was 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.

### Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place on the 6th of August 2021.

## Venue

The whole tournament took place in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir. Around 2,500 spectators were allowed to watch the match in stadium due to COVID-19.
* Muzaffarabad
* Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium
* Capacity: 10,000
* MuzaffarabadShow map of Azad KashmirMuzaffarabadShow map of Pakistan

## Umpires

* Aleem Dar
* Ahsan Raza
* Asif Yaqoob
* Rashid Riaz
* Shozab Raza
* Faisal Afridi
* Ghaffar Kazmi
* Imtiaz Iqbal
* Ahmed Shahab
* Majid Hussain
* Mohammad Sajid

## League stage
### Points table

| Pos | Team v t e | 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;

### Summary

| AgainstTeam | Kotli Lions | Mirpur Royals | Muzaffarabad Tigers | Overseas Warriors | Rawalakot Hawks |
| Bagh Stallions | Won by 5 wickets | Won by 15 runs | Lost by 4 wickets | Lost by 5 wickets | Lost by 5 wickets |
| Kotli Lions | | Lost in Super Over | Lost by 5 wickets | Won by 8 wickets | Match Abandoned |
| Mirpur Royals | | | Won by 5 wickets | Won by 5 wickets | Lost by 43 runs |
| Muzaffarabad Tigers | | | | Won by 7 wickets | Lost by 1 run |
| Overseas Warriors | | | | | Won by 7 wickets |
| Rawalakot Hawks | | | | | |

### League progression

League progression :
| Team | Group matches | Group matches | Group matches | Group matches | Group matches | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Q1/E | Q2 | F |
| Bagh Stallions | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | | |
| Kotli Lions | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | | | |
| Mirpur Royals | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | W | L | |
| Muzaffarabad Tigers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | W | | L |
| Overseas Warriors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | L | | |
| Rawalakot Hawks | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | L | W | W |
| Win | Loss | No result |
* Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
* Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.

### Fixtures

The schedule for the tournament was announced on 2 August 2021. The matches from 12 August onwards were rescheduled due to the Pakistan vs West Indies test series as the timings coincided with each other.
* Match 1 6 August 2021 20:30 (N) Scorecard
| Rawalakot Hawks 194/6 (20 overs) | v | Mirpur Royals 151/8 (20 overs) |
| Ahmed Shehzad 69 (42) Amad Butt 3/20 (4 overs) | | Shoaib Malik 77 (51) Shahid Afridi 2/27 (4 overs) |
* Rawalakot Hawks won by 43 runs Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) Player of the match: Bismillah Khan (Rawalakot Hawks)
* Mirpur Royals won the toss and elected to field.
* Match 2 7 August 2021 14:00 Scorecard
| Kotli Lions 169 (20 overs) | v | Bagh Stallions 172/5 (19.4 overs) |
| Ahsan Ali 51 (37) Mohammad Imran 3/25 (4 overs) | | Asad Shafiq 43* (27) Imran Khan 3/30 (4 overs) |
* Bagh Stallions won by 5 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Pak) and Ahmed Shahab (Pak) Player of the match: Ahsan Ali (Kotli Lions)
* Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to bat.
* Match 3 7 August 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard
| Overseas Warriors 153/8 (20 overs) | v | Muzaffarabad Tigers 156/3 (17.2 overs) |
| Imad Wasim 34 (30) Usama Mir 3/18 (4 overs) | | Sohail Akhtar 58* (24) Kamran Ghulam 2/32 (4 overs) |
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won by 7 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Imtiaz Iqbal (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match: Usama Mir (Muzaffarabad Tigers)
* Overseas Warriors won the toss and elected to bat.
* Match 4 8 August 2021 14:00 Scorecard
| Bagh Stallions 211/6 (20 overs) | v | Mirpur Royals 196/8 (20 overs) |
| Shan Masood 78 (45) Salman Irshad 3/47 (4 overs) | | Muhammad Akhlaq 68 (39) Mohammad Imran 2/33 (4 overs) |
* Bagh Stallions won by 15 runs Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ahmed Shahab (Pak) and Shozab Raza (Pak) Player of the match: Shan Masood (Bagh Stallions)
* Mirpur Royals won the toss and elected to field.
* Match 5 8 August 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard
| Rawalakot Hawks | v | Kotli Lions |
* Match Abandoned Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad
* Match 6 9 August 2021 14:00 Scorecard
| Overseas Warriors 145/6 (20 overs) | v | Mirpur Royals 146/5 (18.1 overs) |
| Kamran Ghulam 47 (35) Salman Irshad 3/25 (4 overs) | | Mukhtar Ahmed 45 (40) Muhammad Musa 3/27 (4 overs) |
* Mirpur Royals won by 5 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Pak) and Ghaffar Kazmi (Pak) Player of the match: Salman Irshad (Mirpur Royals)
* Overseas Warriors won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 7 9 August 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard
| Rawalakot Hawks 175/7 (20 overs) | v | Muzaffarabad Tigers 174/8 (20 overs) |
| Hussain Talat 47* (35) Mohammad Wasim 3/26 (4 overs) | | Mohammad Hafeez 44 (31) Zaman Khan 3/27 (4 overs) |
* Rawalakot Hawks won by 1 run Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Asif Yaqoob (Pak) and Imtiaz Iqbal (Pak) Player of the match: Hussain Talat (Rawalakot Hawks)
* Rawalakot Hawks won the toss and elected to bat
* Mohammad Wasim took the first hat trick in KPL history.
* Match 8 10 August 2021 14:00 Scorecard
| Kotli Lions 195/4 (20 overs) | v | Muzaffarabad Tigers 196/5 (18.3 overs) |
| Asif Ali 67 (34) Mohammad Hafeez 1/10 (1 over) | | Zeeshan Ashraf 107* (62) Akif Javed 2/46 (4 overs) |
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won by 5 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ghaffar Kazmi (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match: Zeeshan Ashraf (Muzaffarabad Tigers)
* Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to bat
* Zeeshan Ashraf scored the first century in KPL history
* Match 9 10 August 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard
| Bagh Stallions 186/7 (20 overs) | v | Overseas Warriors 190/5 (19.2 overs) |
| Shan Masood 73 (45) Abbas Afridi 2/44 (4 overs) | | Haider Ali 91 (57) Aamer Yamin 2/31 (4 overs) |
* Overseas Warriors won by 5 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Faisal Afridi (Pak) and Shozab Raza (Pak) Player of the match: Haider Ali (Overseas Warriors)
* Bagh Stallions won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 10 11 August 2021 14:00 Scorecard
| Bagh Stallions 156/9 (20 overs) | v | Rawalakot Hawks 157/5 (18.2 overs) |
| Aamer Yamin 69 (34) Zaman Khan 3/18 (4 overs) | | Kashif Ali 54 (40) Umaid Asif 2/27 (3 overs) |
* Rawalakot Hawks won by 5 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Asif Yaqoob (Pak) and Mohammad Sajid (Pak) Player of the match: Aamer Yamin (Bagh Stallions)
* Bagh Stallions won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 11 11 August 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard
| Mirpur Royals 211/6 (20 overs) | v | Kotli Lions 211/8 (20 overs) |
| Mukhtar Ahmed 61 (38) Mujtaba Ghayyas 2/23 (3 overs) | | Ahsan Ali 99 (47) Salman Irshad 3/39 (4 overs) |
* Match Tied (Mirpur Royals won the Super Over) Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ahmed Shahab (Pak) and Faisal Afridi (Pak) Player of the match: Ahsan Ali (Kotli Lions)
* Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to field
* Super Over: Kotli Lions 2 all out, Mirpur Royals 4/0.
* Match 12 12 August 2021 10:30 Scorecard
| Bagh Stallions 213/4 (20 overs) | v | Muzaffarabad Tigers 214/6 (18.4 overs) |
| Iftikhar Ahmed 86* (38) Mohammad Hafeez 2/24 (4 overs) | | Sohaib Maqsood 59 (40) Aamir Sohail 2/37 (4 overs) |
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won by 4 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Mohammad Sajid (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match: Anwar Ali (Muzaffarabad Tigers)
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won the toss and elected to field
* Match 13 12 August 2021 15:30 (N) Scorecard
| Rawalakot Hawks 145/9 (20 overs) | v | Overseas Warriors 133/3 (13.1 overs) |
| Umar Amin 55 (42) Abbas Afridi 5/18 (4 overs) | | Nasir Nawaz 56 (36) Asif Afridi 2/29 (4 overs) |
* Overseas Warriors won by 7 wickets (DLS method) Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Majid Hussain (Pak) Player of the match: Nasir Nawaz (Overseas Warriors)
* Overseas Warriors won the toss and elected to field
* Target reduced to 133 from 18 overs
* Match 14 13 August 2021 10:30 Scorecard
| Overseas Warriors 211/6 (20 overs) | v | Kotli Lions 215/2 (19 overs) |
| Nasir Nawaz 66 (44) Khurram Shahzad 3/39 (4 overs) | | Kamran Akmal 60 (35) Faizan Saleem 1/15 (2 overs) |
* Kotli Lions won by 8 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Player of the match: Kamran Akmal (Kotli Lions)
* Kotli Lions won the toss and elected to field
* Match 15 13 August 2021 15:30 (N) Scorecard
| Muzaffarabad Tigers 227/6 (20 overs) | v | Mirpur Royals 231/5 (19.4 overs) |
| Mohammad Hafeez 110 (55) Salman Irshad 2/27 (4 overs) | | Khushdil Shah 56* (22) Arsalan Arif 1/15 (2 overs) |
* Mirpur Royals won by 5 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Faisal Afridi Player of the match: Mohammad Hafeez (Muzaffarabad Tigers)
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won the toss and elected to field
* Mohammad Hafeez scored his first century in the KPL

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Final | Final | Final |
| 14 August — Muzaffarabad | 14 August — Muzaffarabad | 14 August — Muzaffarabad | | | | 17 August — Muzaffarabad | 17 August — Muzaffarabad | 17 August — Muzaffarabad |
| 2 | Muzaffarabad Tigers | 164/8 (20 overs) | | | | 1 | Rawalakot Hawks | 169/7 (20 overs) |
| 1 | Rawalakot Hawks | 157 (19.4 overs) | 16 August — Muzaffarabad | 16 August — Muzaffarabad | 16 August — Muzaffarabad | 2 | Muzaffarabad Tigers | 162/9 (20 overs) |
| | | | 3 | Mirpur Royals | 236/4 (20 overs) | | | |
| 15 August — Muzaffarabad | 15 August — Muzaffarabad | 15 August — Muzaffarabad | 1 | Rawalakot Hawks | 237/6 (19.4 overs) | | | |
| 4 | Overseas Warriors | 160/9 (20 overs) | | | | | | |
| 3 | Mirpur Royals | 162/6 (18.4 overs) | | | | | | |

### Preliminary
#### Qualifier

* Match 16 14 August 2021 16:00 (N) Scorecard
| Muzaffarabad Tigers 164/8 (20 overs) | v | Rawalakot Hawks 157 (19.4 overs) |
| Anwar Ali 57 (34) Mohammad Imran 2/9 (2 overs) | | Hussain Talat 52 (35) Sohail Tanvir 4/29 (4 overs) |
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won by 7 runs Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) Player of the match: Anwar Ali (Muzaffarabad Tigers)
* Rawalakot Hawks won the toss and elected to field

#### Eliminator 1

* Match 17 15 August 2021 16:00 (N) Scorecard
| Overseas Warriors 160/9 (20 overs) | v | Mirpur Royals 162/6 (18.4 overs) |
| Agha Salman 59 (26) Shadab Majeed 4/45 (4 overs) | | Sharjeel Khan 30 (17) Sohail Khan 2/23 (4 overs) |
* Mirpur Royals won by 4 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Rashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match: Shadab Majeed (Mirpur Royals)
* Mirpur Royals won the toss and elected to field

#### Eliminator 2

* Match 18 16 August 2021 16:00 (N) Scorecard
| Mirpur Royals 236/4 (20 overs) | v | Rawalakot Hawks 237/6 (19.4 overs) |
| Sharjeel Khan 141 (63) Zaman Khan 2/18 (4 overs) | | Kashif Ali 114* (51) Amad Butt 3/40 (4 overs) |
* Rawalakot Hawks won by 4 wickets Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Asif Yaqoob (Pak) Player of the match: Kashif Ali (Rawalakot Hawks)
* Rawalakot Hawks won the toss and elected to field
* Sharjeel Khan and Kashif Ali scored their first centuries in the KPL.

### Final

* Match 19 17 August 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard
| Rawalakot Hawks 169/7 (20 overs) | v | Muzaffarabad Tigers 162/9 (20 overs) |
| Kashif Ali 54 (29) Usama Mir 2/25 (4 overs) | | Zeeshan Ashraf 46 (26) Hussain Talat 3/18 (4 overs) |
* Rawalakot Hawks won by 7 runs Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, Muzaffarabad Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Pak) and Aleem Dar (Pak) Player of the match: Asif Afridi (Rawalakot Hawks)
* Muzaffarabad Tigers won the toss and elected to field

## Statistics
### Most runs

| Player | Team | Matches | Runs | High score |
| Sharjeel Khan | Mirpur Royals | 6 | 296 | 141 |
| Zeeshan Ashraf | Muzaffarabad Tigers | 7 | 284 | 107 not out |
| Shan Masood | Bagh Stallions | 5 | 254 | 78 |
| Kashif Ali | Rawalakot Hawks | 7 | 242 | 114 not out |
| Shoaib Malik | Mirpur Royals | 7 | 240 | 77 |
* Source: Cricinfo

### Most wickets

| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets | Best bowling |
| Salman Irshad | Mirpur Royals | 7 | 16 | 3/25 |
| Asif Afridi | Rawalakot Hawks | 7 | 12 | 3/21 |
| Amad Butt | Mirpur Royals | 7 | 11 | 3/20 |
| Zaman Khan | Rawalakot Hawks | 6 | 10 | 3/18 |
| Umaid Asif | Bagh Stallions | 5 | 9 | 3/20 |
* Source: Cricinfo

## Awards
### Individual awards

| Name | Team | Award |
| Hussain Talat | Rawalakot Hawks | Player of the Tournament |
| Zeeshan Ashraf | Muzaffarabad Tigers | Best Batsman of the tournament |
| Asif Afridi | Rawalakot Hawks | Best Bowler of the tournament |
| Mohammad Wasim | Muzaffarabad Tigers | Best Fielder of the tournament |
| Bismillah Khan | Rawalakot Hawks | Best Wicket-keeper of the tournament |
| Salman Irshad | Mirpur Royals | Best Kashmiri of the tournament |

### Dream Team

* Players
* Shan Masood
* Zeeshan Ashraf (wk)
* Ahsan Ali
* Kashif Ali
* Hussain Talat
* Anwar Ali
* Shahid Afridi (c)
* Mohammad Wasim
* Asif Afridi
* Salman Irshad
* Zaman Khan
* Arshad Iqbal (12th man)

## Controversies

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. 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. 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. 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.
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." 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."
On 2 August 2021, the BCCI urged ICC not to recognise the Kashmir Premier League due to the disputed nature of Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. In response, the ICC clarified that the tournament doesn't come under their jurisdiction as it is not an international tournament. The 2021 KPL received 15 million views within the first 5 matches and broke the record for Pakistan's most viewed live sports event launch on digital media. The President of the KPL, Arif Malik, said that the BCCI's efforts to stop the league only popularised it instead.
The KPL did not pay players for any player awards (e.g., man of the match) and end of the season awards. They later cleared all player related dues in June 2022.