Despite a grand welcome to the squad, Lahore Qalandars left out Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain from their starting eleven against reigning champions Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League opener in Rawalpindi on Friday. 

Rishad, who reached Pakistan on April 8, was welcomed by Lahore skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and a team official at the team hotel. Lahore Qalandars even posted a video of Rishad being received on their official Facebook page. 

In the video, Afridi was seen telling Rishad to ask him for anything he needed. However, it seems like Lahore Qalandars did not need the leg-spinner in the XI today.  

Instead of going with Rishad, Lahore opted for left-arm spinner Asif Afridi alongside the off-spin option of Sikandar Raza.  

Islamabad United: Andries Gous,Sahibzada Farhan, Colin Munro, Salman Agha, +Azam Khan, *Shadab Khan, Jason Holder, Muhammad Shahzad, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Riley Meredith.

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Naeem, Daryl Mitchell, +Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, *Shaheen Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Asif Afridi.