PSL 2023: Former England seamer Ajmal Shahzad replaces Ottis Gibson at Multan Sultans

Former England fast bowler Ajmal Shahzad has replaced Ottis Gibson as the fast bowling coach of Multan Sultans ahead of the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League.

Gibson is currently the head coach of Yorkshire and due to his commitments to the county, he won't be able to join Multan Sultans on time ahead of the forthcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League.

Ajmal, who was previously associated with the PSL franchise as an assistant coach will take over the coaching duties from Gibson. Ajmal is currently heading the position of bowling coach at Derbyshire. 

Sultans already have a head coach in the form of Azhar Mahmood and hence Ajmal will be expected to work alongside him and help Sultans repeat their heroics of the 2021 edition.

Sultans led by their wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were phenomenal in the previous edition of the tournament. They finished at the top of the points ladder after the end of the group stage but lost the summit clash to the Shaheen Afridi-led Lahore Qalandars by 42 runs.

Although, Sultans' skipper Mohammad Rizwan couldn't help his team clinch the title for the second time in a row, he was unstoppable with the bat in the 2022 edition as he ended up with 546 runs - second most runs in the season after Qalandars' Fakhar Zaman who topped the charts as he aggregated 588 runs across 13 matches.

Rizwan was awarded the Player of the Series due to his blazing run with the bat and also for the way he led his team from the front and helped them play in the second summit clash in a row.

The latest season is expected to run for five weeks between mid-February and mid-March next year (2023) but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is yet to announce the official schedule.

The PCB has recently witnessed a lot of turbulence as Ramiz Raja was sacked as the chairman of the governing body. The newly formed administration under the leadership of the new PCB chief Najam Sethi has scrapped the Pakistan Junior League too.