Even before the tournament has begun, there has been a lot of discussion and also controversy regarding the inaugural edition of the Kashmir Premier League. Regardless of all the controversy, the tournament would go ahead as planned with the first match being held on August 6, Friday. Setting all of the talk around disputes, aside, let us take a look at the details of this new tournament. The Kashmir Premier League is a six-team competition that would be held in Muzaffarabad.  The final would be held on August 17. The six teams who would compete for the title are--Muzaffarabad Tigers, Kotli Lions, Bagh Stallions, Overseas Warriors, Mirpur Royals and Rawalkot Hawks. Monty Panesar Withdraws from Kashmir Premier League 2021, Says Don’t Want to be in the Middle of India-Pakistan Political Tensions

A total of 19 matches would be played in this competition. Let us take a look at the schedule below:

Date

Match 

Time

August 6, Friday Mirpur Royals vs Rawalkot Hawks 8:00 PM IST
August 7, Saturday Bagh Stallions vs Kotli Lions 1:30 PM IST 
August 7, Saturday Overseas Warriors vs Muzaffarabad Tigers 7:00 PM IST
August 8, Sunday Mirpur Royals vs Bagh Stallions 1:30 PM IST
August 8, 

Sunday

 Rawalkot Hawks vs Kotli Lions 7:00 PM IST
August 9, Monday Overseas Warriors vs Mirpur Royals 1:30 PM IST
August 9, 

Monday

 Rawalkot Hawks vs Muzaffarabad Tigers 7:00 PM IST
August 10, Tuesday Muzaffarabad Tigers vs Kotli Lions 1:30 PM IST
August 10, Tuesday Bagh Stallions vs Overseas Warriors 7:00 PM IST
August 11, Wednesday Rawalkot Hawks vs Bagh Stallions 1:30 PM IST
August 11, Wednesday Kotli Lions vs Mirpur Royals 7:00 PM IST
August 12, Thursday Bagh Stallions vs Muzaffarabad Tigers 10:30 AM IST
August 12, Thursday Rawalkot Hawks vs Overseas Warriors 3:30 PM IST
August 13, Friday Overseas Warriors vs Kotli Lions 10:30 AM IST
August 13, Friday Muzaffarabad Tigers vs Mirpur Lions 3:30 PM IST
August 14, 

Saturday

 Qualifier (Team 1 vs Team 2) 3:30 PM IST
August 15, Sunday Eliminator 1 (Team 3 vs Team 4) 3:30 PM IST
August 16, 

Monday

 Eliminator 2 (Loser of Qualifier vs Winner of Eliminator 1) 3:30 PM IST
August 17, 

Tuesday

 Final (Winner of Qualifier vs Winner of Eliminator 2)  6:30 PM IST

Kashmir Premier Live Streaming Details

Fans in Pakistan can watch the live telecast of Kashmir Premier League T20 matches on PTV Sports and Geo Super.

The controversy

Let us take a look at the controversy behind the competition. It all started to come to light when this tweet by Herschelle Gibbs surfaced online:

See this tweet:

After this, several reports started doing the rounds suggesting that BCCI has 'warned' players from participating in competitions in the disputed area. The Pakistan Cricket Board retorted back stating that it was a move that was against the game. The BCCI's reported 'warning' made many foreign players quit the tournament, an example being Monty Panesar. Despite resistance by the BCCI, Herschelle Gibbs and Tillakaratne Dilshan would participate in the competition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 05, 2021 09:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).