After all that chatter about the resumption and venue of the remaining games of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), we can finally focus on cricketing matters. Yesterday, a virtual mini-draft was held that allowed all franchises to make two additions to their current squad. This was done in order to facilitate teams to find the right combinations as several players are unavailable due to logistical issues or their playing committements.
A total of 12 picks were made on Saturday, which included replacement as well as the 19th and 20th player submissions for some of the teams. Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars have not made selections for their 20th player which they will make later if required.
Let’s take a look at the team picks and how they stack up for the remainder of the tournament.
Multan Sultans
The biggest pick of the night was made by Multan Sultans as they bagged West Indies hard hitting batsmen Shimron Hetmyer. The left hander will boost the middle of Sultans which under fired big time during the Karachi leg of the tournament. Johnson Charles, another one from West Indies has been added to the squad.
In addition to this, Pakistani all-rounder Hammad Azam has also been drafted. The right-hander had a fantastic domestic season for Northern and will be looking to replicate that performance in the remaining games of PSL 6.
Players not available: Chris Lynn, James Vince, Adam Lyth and Carlos Braithwaite
Squad
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Hammad Azam, Imran Tahir, Imran Khan Snr, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Umar, Obed McCoy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rilee Rossouw, Shahid Afridi, Shahnawaz Dhani, Shan Masood, Shimron Hetmyer (partially available), Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir and Muhammad Waseem
Quetta Gladiators:
The gladiator’s management tried to focus on the issues that were quite visible in their initial matches. Australia’s Jake Weatherald has been brought in to strengthen the opening slot. Jake has been a consistent scorer for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL). Jack Widermuth, another Australian will be filling in for Dale Steyn and will be crucial for Quetta Gladiators in the bowling department as they weren’t able to defend totals in access of 180.
Zahir Khan from Afghanistan has been brought in for Ben Cutting. The 22-year-old will have the support of Zahid Mehmood, Hassan Khan and Muhammad Nawaz in the spin department. Considering Quetta’s success in UAE in the previous editions of the UAE, they have the goods to bring their campaign back on track.
Players not available: Chris Gayle, Ben Cutting, Dale Steyn and Qais Ahmed
Final Squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Abdul Nasir, Andre Russell (partially available), Anwar Ali, Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan, Cameron Delport, Faf du Plessis, Hassan Khan, Jack Wildermuth, Jake Weatherald, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Usman Shinwari, Zahid Mahmood and Zahir Khan.
Lahore Qalandars
With three wins from their first four games, this has been Lahore’s best start to any campaign of the PSL. They picked Tim David from Singapore. The 25-year-old all-rounder is a very handy cricketer and has experience of playing in T20 leagues. The Qalandars also snapped up a UAE player in Sultan Ahmed, a left-arm spinner who originally hails from Pakistan.
Players not available: David Wiese, Samit Patel
Squad
Sohail Akhtar (c), Ahmed Danyal, Ben Dunk, Callum Ferguson, Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, James Faulkner, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shakib al Hasan (replacement to be announced shortly), Salman Ali Agha, Seekuge Prasana, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sultan Ahmed (replaces Joe Burns), Tim David, Zaid Alam and Zeeshan Ashraf.
Islamabad United
The most successful side in the history of the tournament will miss the services of their English recruits. In addition to this Ireland’s hard-hitting batsman, Paul Stirling will also be unavailable. Colin Munro, who was not able to join the squad due to quarantine restrictions in New Zealand in February has confirmed his availability. Yesterday, Mohamamd Akhlaq was drafted in by the United’s management.
Players not available: Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling
Squad
Shadab Khan (c), Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Asif Ali, Colin Munro, Fawad Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Akhlaq, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Usman Khawaja, Zafar Gohar and Zeeshan Zameer.
Karachi Kings
The defending champions made only one pick in yesterday’s draft. Muhammad Haris, a young wicket-keeper from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was picked up. In April, Kings brought in Najeebullah Zadran and Thisara Perera in place of Muhammad Nabi and Dan Christian. Karachi still has room for one more player in their squad which will be announced later.
Squad
Imad Wasim (c), Abbas Afridi, Amir Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Babar Azam, Chadwick Walton, Danish Aziz, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Haris, Thisara Perera, Najeebullah Zadran, Noor Ahmed, Qasim Akram, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood and Zeeshan Malik
Peshawar Zalmi
Zalmi also made only one pick in yesterday’s mini-draft. Bismillah Khan, a belligerent striker of the ball has been added to bolster the batting lineup.
Players not available: Tom-Kohler Cadmore, Sajid Mehmood
Squad Wahab Riaz (c), Abrar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Bismillah Khan, David Miller (partially available), Fabian Allen (partially available), Fidel Edwards (partially available), Haider Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Irfan Snr, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Rovman Powell, Waqar Salamkheil, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik, and Umaid Asif
