The federal government has decided to deploy Army and Punjab Rangers personnel for the security of Kashmir Premier League (KPL) 2 being launched today, reported 24NewsHD TV channel, quoting its sources.

The members of the federal cabinet approved the deployment through a circulation summary forwarded by the Interior Ministry.

According to the sources, the Azad Kashmir government had requested for Army and Rangers deployment for KPL 2 which will be played from August 13 to August 26.

The second season of the 2022 Kashmir Premier League (KPL) will begin from today and will continue till August 26 at the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium, with defending champions Rawalakot Hawks playing the opening game against Jammu Janbaz.

Top Pakistan cricket stars including Shahid Khan Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez and many more would be seen in action at the iconic Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium.

As many as seven teams including Muzaffarabad Tigers, Hawks, Janbaz, Mirpur Royals, Stallions, Kotli Lions and Overseas Warriors would feature in season 2 of the league.

This season would see the expansion of KPL from six teams to seven teams. After the end of the first edition of the KPL, it was announced that there would be a seventh team added for the 2022 edition.

Since its inception, KPL besides creating a positive and soft image of Pakistan and Kashmir around the globe, has also provided an opportunity for the local Kashmiri talent to showcase their skills in the extravaganza.

The KPL has brought a revolution in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and highlighted Kashmir on the global sports map by sending a message across the globe that sports and culture bring the people together.

KPL 2022 teams include:

Rawalakot Hawks: Mohammad Amir, Ahmed Shahzad (c), Hussain Talat, Asif Afridi, Zaman Khan, Amad Butt, Bismillah Khan, Zeeshan Malik, Musaddiq Ahmed, Faisal Akram, Ammad Alam, Saeedullah, Ehsanullah, Zain-ul-Hasan, Saif Ali, Atif Sheikh, Roya Farhan Khan, Kashif Ali.

Muzaffarabad Tigers: Mohammad Hafeez (c), Sohail Tanvir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haseebullah Khan, Anwar Ali, Zeeshan Ashraf, Arshad Iqbal, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Salman Fayyaz, Taimur Sultan, Aqib Liaquat, Amir Khan, Aqib Ilyas, Saad Bin Zafar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Osman Maroof, Usama Fazal.

Kotli Lions: Khurram Manzoor (c), Danish Aziz, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Ahsan Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Irfanullah Shah, Khalid Usman, Mushtaq Ahmed Kalhoro, Hassan Khan, Hanif Azad, Hassan Mohsin, Imran Shah, Irfan Ali Kasmi, Zayyan Khan (Kotli Lions), Basit Ali, Naveed Malik, Mujtaba Gayyaz, Nadeem Khalil.

Bagh Stallions: Kamran Akmal, Rumman Raees, Sohaib Maqsood, Amir Yamin, Umar Amin (c), Kashif Bhatti, M Imran Jr, Mohammad Sarwar, Mohammad Sharoon Siraj, Abdullah Jamal, Aitizaz Habib Khan, Maaz Khan, Sajjad Ali, Hassan Raza, Daniyal Allah Ditta, Amir Shahzad, Arsalan Arif, Raja Farhan.

Mirpur Royals: Shoaib Malik (c), Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Ali Imran, Salman Irshad, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Akhlaq, Kashif Ali, Mohammad Hamza Arshad, Zubair Khan Lodhy, Zaid Alam, Hassan Nawaz, Ali Razzaq, Sufyan, Shan, Umar Hayat, Faizan Saleem, Shadab Majeed.

Jammu Janbaz: Sharjeel Khan (c), Faheem Ashraf, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Sahibzada Farhan, Usama Mir, Akif Javed, Imran Khan Sr, Umar Siddique Khan, Shahzab, Ahmed Khan, Hamza Shah Afridi, Samiullah Afridi, Nakash, Faisal Altaf, Naseer Najam, Mohammad Shahzad, Mehran Mumtaz.

Overseas Warriors: Asad Shafiq (c), Azam Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Sohail Khan, Umaid Asif, Saif Badar, Adil Amin, Bilal Asif, Ali Shafiq, Mohammad Shahzad, Umar Zeeshan Loya, Khuwaja Mohammad, Farhan Shafi, Shahzad, Hashim Ali, Saad Asif, Malik Nisar.

Reporter Awais Kiyani