The next stop on the T20 gravy train is Pakistan as stars converge on third edition of PSL

Who's playing? When are the games? Can I watch it on TV? Who is going to win it? The answers to all your Pakistan Super League questions in one handy place

This is where Trevor Bayliss thinks T20 cricket belongs.

The Pakistan Super League is the latest pitstop for world cricket’s short-form mercenaries as the month-long tournament kicks off later this week.

The Cricketer has all the whos, whats, wheres and whens...

What’s going on then?

It’s the Pakistan Super League, dummy.

Where’s this one taking place?

This year, games will be split over four venues - two in the UAE and two in Pakistan.

Dubai, Sharjah, Lahore and Karachi will all host matches.

When does the competition start?

Thursday, February 22 and it runs for a month, with the final scheduled to take place on March 25.

^{Darren Sammy celebrates PSL success in 2017}

Who’s involved?

This is the first edition of the tournament with six teams competing for the title.

Those sides are Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalanders, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans, who are making their debut in the event in 2018.

Who are the defending champions?

Peshawar won last year’s competition, beating Quetta Gladiators by a massive 58 runs in the final.

Are there lots of familiar names playing?

Don’t you just know it.

Brendon McCullum, Shahid Afridi, Chris Lynn, Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib al Hasan, Kevin Pietersen and Shane Watson are all involved and there are a host of England internationals set to turn out too.

Islamabad include Alex Hales, Jason Roy has signed with Quetta and both Eoin Morgan and Tymal Mills are on the books of Karachi.

Here’s the full squad list…

Islamabad United: Misbah ul Haq, Alex Hales, Asif Ali, JP Duminy, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Amad Butt, Andre Russell, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Hussain Talat, Steven Finn, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Hasan, Rohail Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Samuel Badree, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Hasnain, Samit Patel (cover), Chadwick Walton (cover)

Karachi Kings: Eoin Morgan, Lendl Simmons, Babar Azam, Khurram Manzoor, Colin Ingram, Joe Denly, Imad Wasim, Shahid Afridi, Ravi Bopara, Hasan Mohsin, David Wiese, Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Rizwan, Saifullah Bangash, Mohammad Amir, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Tabish Khan, Tymal Mills

Lahore Qalandars: Cameron Delport, Fakhar Zaman, Brendon McCullum, Sohail Akhtar, Chris Lynn, Aamer Yamin, Bilawal Bhatti, Bilal Asif, Anton Devcich, Umar Akmal, Gulraiz Sadaf, Sohail Khan, Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah, Ghulam Mudassar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Raza Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi, Imran Khan, Dinesh Ramdin (cover)

Peshawar Zalmi: Rikki Wessels, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Arif, Khushdil Shah, Taimur Sultan, Ibtisam Sheikh, Mohammad Hafeez, Shakib Al Hasan, Darren Sammy, Haris Sohail, Dwayne Bravo, Hammad Azam, Saad Nasim, Khalid Usman, Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher, Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Asghar, Sameen Gul, Liam Dawson (cover), Umaid Asif (cover)

Quetta Gladiators: Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Asad Shafiq, Saad Ali, Rameez Raja, Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel, Umar Amin, Mohammad Nawaz, Jofra Archer, John Hastings, Shane Watson, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Azam Khan, Hasan Khan, Mir Hamza, Rashid Khan, Rahat Ali, Faraz Ahmed, John Hastings (cover), Chris Green (cover), Ben Laughlin (cover)

Multan Sultans: Ahmed Shehzad, Sohaib Maqsood, Abdullah Shafiq, Darren Bravo, Saif Badar, Umar Siddiq, Shan Masood, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Kieron Pollard, Kashif Bhatti, Ross Whiteley, Kumar Sangakkara, Nicholas Pooran, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Imran Tahir, Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Hardus Viljoen, Thisara Perera (cover)

^{Quetta Gladiators are one of six teams involved}

Any predictions?

Islamabad look to have plenty of power up front and are led by a wiley old head in the shape of Misbah-ul-Haq.

Don’t be surprised to see Quetta challenging either - and Sussex Sharks fans will be interested to see how Jofra Archer and Rashid Khan perform in the same side.

The Cricketer says: 1 - Quetta, 2 - Islamabad, 3 - Karachi Kings, 4 - Lahore Qalandars, 5 - Multan Sultans, 6 - Peshawar Zalmi

Can I watch it on TV?

That depends where you are in the world.

UK viewers with Sky will be able to find coverage via Prime TV, which is located on channel 792.

If you’re in India, it’s a job for DSport but tough luck all those Aussies keen to catch up, you’ll have to make do with highlights via Fox Sports’ website as there is no live action available.

There is another way to watch it all live - via a streaming website called Cricket Gateway - and it is totally PSL-sanctioned. But you’ll have to sign up to the site to get access.

What’s the format?

The good old double round robin. Each team plays everyone else twice before the competition splits into a play-off system.

Who’s got history in the competition?

Um. It’s only been going for two years. Quetta have come second twice, with Peshawar and Islamabad the two champion teams.

Lahore have never got beyond the group stage.

^{Islamabad United won in 2016}

And what times are the games on?

The opening match on February 22 is scheduled to start at 10pm Pakistan time, which is 5pm GMT.

All other matches are set to take place at 4.30pm Pakistan time (11.30am GMT) or 9pm Pakistan time (4pm GMT).

Thanks very much

You’re most welcome.

PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Thursday, February 22: Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans

Friday, February 23: Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators; Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars

Saturday, February 24: Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi; Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars

Sunday, February 25: Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United; Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi

Monday, February 26: Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars

Wednesday, February 28: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators

Thursday, March 1: Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi

Friday, March 2: Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings; Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United

Saturday, March 3: Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators; Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars

Sunday, March 4: Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings

Tuesday, March 6: Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans

Wednesday, March 7: Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators

Thursday, March 8: Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars; Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators

Friday, March 9: Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars; Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United

Saturday, March 10: Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings; Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators

Sunday, March 11: Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars

Tuesday March 13: Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United

Wednesday, March 14: Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars

Thursday, March 15: Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings; Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United

Friday, March 16: Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars; Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings

Sunday, March 18: Qualifier – Team 1 vs Team 2

Tuesday March 20: Eliminator 1 – Team 3 vs Team 4

Wednesday, March 21: Eliminator 2 – Eliminator 1 Winner vs Qualifier Loser

Sunday, March 25: PSL final