2017 Pakistan Super League

The 2017 Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 2 or, for sponsorship reasons, HBL PSL 2017), was the second season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2016. On 19 October 2016, at the 2017 player draft, league chairman Najam Sethi announced that the final of the 2017 tournament might be played in Lahore, Pakistan, depending on the security situation there. The PCB confirmed it was their intention to play the final in Lahore in January 2017 with players being flown into and out of Pakistan during a short window either side of the final. The Umpire Decision Review System (DRS) was used in play-off matches. The defending champions Islamabad United were eliminated in the first Eliminator. The 2017 PSL was broadcast in more than 10 territories. According to Najam Sethi, ratings were higher than the previous season.

The final was held in Lahore on 5 March and saw Peshawar Zalmi defeating Quetta Gladiators by 58 runs to win the championship. Darren Sammy of Peshawar Zalmi was awarded the man of the match award. Kamran Akmal, also of Peshawar Zalmi, was named the player of the tournament for scoring the highest aggregate of runs in PSL 2017.

The tournament also witnessed a spot-fixing controversy. As a result of this, four players were banned for differing periods of time.

Before the 2017 Pakistan Super League players draft in October 2016, league chairman Najam Sethi announced that the league hoped to hold the 2017 final in Lahore, Pakistan, with the agreement of Punjab Government officials. In the league's first season, all matches, including the final, were held in the UAE for security reasons. Sethi claimed the league had signed foreign players on the condition that if their team reached the final, they would have to travel to Lahore. Agents rebutted this claim saying their clients had agreed that they would only travel to play the final in Pakistan if the security advice prior to the final was favourable. They could not be forced to travel there. A PSL team official said security would need to be "extremely high", adding that "cash incentives" had been offered to foreign players to agree to travel to Lahore, although no action would be taken against any player who refused to do so. In August 2016, Sethi had stated that if players were unwilling to travel that teams could pick from a pool of foreign players from other teams who had agreed to do so, and that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could organise "foolproof security" for the event.

The league's opening ceremony, hosted by actor Fahad Mustafa, was held in Dubai at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, on 9 February 2017. Defending Champions Islamabad United marched into the stadium in traditional shalwar kameez. The ceremony featured Pakistani cultural performances; and spectacular flying drummers, followed by a live performance of the Jamaican pop star and singer Shaggy. Pakistani singers Shehzad Roy and Ali Zafar performed the league's anthems "Ballay Ballay" and "Ab Khel Jamay Ga" respectively. Over 26,000 people attended the ceremony in the stadium, which ended with a fireworks display.

The closing ceremony was held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Ayesha Omar and Ahmad Ali Butt hosted the event which featured live performances by Pakistani singers Ali Zafar, Faakhir Mehmood, Overload and Ali Azmat. A sold-out crowd of spectators enjoyed the closing ceremony. Before the ceremony, Najam Sethi claimed that viewership was higher than in the previous season.

The player draft for the 2017 season was held in Dubai on 19 October 2016. 414 players—both Pakistani and international—were divided into five different categories. Each franchise could pick a maximum of seven foreign players for their squads, which could have a maximum of 20 members. 100 players, including 34 foreigners, were picked during the draft.

Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were both provisionally suspended under the PCB's Anti-Corruption Code as part of an ongoing investigation into an organisation's alleged attempts to corrupt the 2017 Pakistan Super League. Both batsmen had been sent home, and no replacements were named. The ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit backed the PCB's investigation.