Martin Guptill said on Sunday that he is back in Pakistan for the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The league had been suspended due to rising cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, with the match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi in Rawalpindi on Friday being the first game this season since May 7. Guptill, who retired from international cricket in January this year, is part of the commentary team for the league.
Guptill’s return comes after reports emerged of his former New Zealand teammate Daryl Mitchell stating that he will “never return to Pakistan again”. Bangladesh leg spinner Rishad Hossain had told Cricbuzz that the foreign players he knew were all “frightened” and “relieved” to have reached Dubai. “Foreign players like Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, Tom Curran… all of them were so frightened… Landing in Dubai, Mitchell told me that he would never go to Pakistan again, especially in this kind of scenario. Overall, they were all horrified,” Rishad had said.
Martin Guptill, who is part of the commentary team for the PSL, said that he is back in Islamabad for the remainder of the season. (Martin Guptill Instagram Story)
The PSL’s suspension came shortly after the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) was halted. Like the PSL, the IPL returned on Saturday as well, albeit in a washed out match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders. While there were initial plans to play the rest of the PSL season in the UAE, those were eventually scrapped. There are eight matches remaining this season, with the final to be played on May 25, which is a week later than the originally scheduled date.
A number of foreign players have returned to Pakistan for the remainder of the tournament. Saturday’s match between Kings and Zalmi featured the former’s captain and Australia great David Warner, Ben McGermott, James Vince and Mohammad Nabi while Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Max Bryant and Luke Wood turned up for the latter. The four remaining group games will take place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Ground, with the playoffs and final in Lahore. The first of the double header on Sunday between Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators is the only game that will take place in the day, with evening games set to start at 7.30pm local time.
