HBL PSL Draft

The players’ draft for the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) took place on Dec 15, where over 500 foreign players and more than 450 Pakistani players were up for grabs. Teams had to pick from the Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Emerging, and Supplementary categories. On top of that, teams also had the chance to use ‘right-to-match’ RTM card, which was intelligently used by Quetta Gladiators to pull Naseem Shah back from the claws of Multan Sultans.

Last night’s draft saw many interesting and surprising picks, where many senior pros were left out, while some uncapped promising players were picked on the back of their talent. Every franchise put in their efforts to prepare the best roster for PSL 8. Let’s see what the teams look like after the draft.

Unpicked Players from PSL Draft

Former captain Mohammad Hafeez was one of the most notable omissions, as no franchise showed any interest in the man of the match from last year’s PSL final. Along with him, the second most run-scorer in PSL Kamran Akmal, and Ahmed Shahzad were also ignored by teams during the draft.

Sohail Tanvir and Ben Cutting’s rivalry was one of the highlights of PSL, where both seasoned players were involved in a heated exchange on the field, recreating their rivalry from CPL, however, this season, both players failed to find a place in any franchise.

Former Australian captain Aaron Finch, South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, and, Litton Das were also among the names who were ignored at the draft.

Complete Player Roster after Draft

Lahore Qalandars

Lahore Qalandars did not retain Fakhar Zaman initially but picked him in the Platinum category. They showed trust in their PDP (Players Development Program) players, which is why their batting is heavy on local players, however, their bowling is world-class, as always. They replaced Hafeez and Samit Patel, with Sikandar Raza and Liam Dawson, so they have almost covered all areas. The only thing missing in their lineup is an experienced wicketkeeper. They picked PJL’s Shahwaiz Irfan in emerging and 22-year-old Jordan Cox in supplementary, one of these two will be keeping wickets.

Platinum: Fakhar Zaman, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Shaheen Shah Afridi

Diamond: Dawid Wiese (Namibia), Hussain Talat, Haris Rauf (all Diamond),

Gold: Abdullah Shafique, Liam Dawson (England), Sikander Raza (Zimbabwe)

Silver: Ahmad Daniyal, Dilbar Hussain, Harry Brook (England), Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Tahir Baig

Emerging: Shawaiz Irfan, Zaman Khan

Supplementary: Jalat Khan and Jordan Cox (England)

Multan Sultans

Multan Sultans led by Mohammad Rizwan picked experienced David Miller and used their wildcard on Ireland’s Josh Little in the platinum category. They have more of a batting-heavy team covering all bases, whereas, they have made smart picks in bowling with T20 world cup winner Adil Rashid in supplementary and West Indian left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein in gold.

Platinum: David Miller (South Africa), Josh Little (Ireland), Mohammad Rizwan

Diamond: Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Shan Masood

Gold: Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Shahnawaz Dahani, Tim David

Silver: Anwar Ali, Sameen Gul, Sarwar Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan

Emerging: Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah

Supplementary: Adil Rashid (England) and Arafat Minhas

Islamabad United

Islamabad United carried on with their aggressive intent during PSL draft and showed faith in batters who can take the game away in a blink of an eye. They have more firepower than any other batting lineup in the tournament, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s addition made this side look more destructive. They also picked last season’s Multan Sultans’ duo of Rumman Raees and Sohaib Maqsood. They have also picked spin sensations Abrar Ahmed, and Mubasir Khan.

Platinum: Alex Hales (England), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Shadab Khan

Diamond: Asif Ali, Fazal Haq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Wasim Jr

Gold: Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali

Silver: Abrar Ahmed, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Rumman Raees, Sohaib Maqsood

Emerging: Hassan Nawaz, Zeeshan Zamir

Supplementary: Moeen Ali (England) and Mubasir Khan

Karachi Kings

Karachi Kings’ draft picks looked messy at first, but they recovered in later rounds to make up for that. They don’t look great on paper, but they have covered their bases well enough to put on a fight. Imran Tahir and Mathew Wade can be real game changers for them, with all the experience they bring to the table. Andrew Tye is also a good addition, considering his death bowling specialty.

Platinum: Haider Ali, Imran Tahir (South Africa), Matthew Wade (Australia)

Diamond: Imad Wasim, James Fuller (New Zealand), James Vince (England)

Gold: Andrew Tye (Australia), Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik

Silver: Aamer Yamin, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Akhlaq, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir

Emerging: Irfan Khan Niazi, Qasim Akram

Supplementary: Mohammad Umar and Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa)

Peshawar Zalmi

Peshawar Zalmi revamped their whole lineup at PSL draft with Babar Azam as the new captain. They picked Sri Lankan star Bhanuka Rajapaksa in Platinum, followed by Mujeeb Ur Rehman in Diamond. They have also picked some exciting local players in the silver and emerging categories. Danish Aziz and Saim Ayub from Sindh are also part of the Zalmi squad this season. They have a complete roster equipped with a lot of promise and quality in every department.

Platinum: Babar Azam, Rovman Powell (West Indies), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka)

Diamond: Mujeeb Ur Rehman (Afghanistan), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Wahab Riaz

Gold: Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris

Silver: Aamer Jamal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Usman Qadir

Emerging: Haseebullah Khan, Sufyan Muqeem

Supplementary: Jimmy Neesham

Quetta Gladiators

Quetta Gladiators made the first blockbuster pick of Sri Lanka’s star player Wanindu Hasaranga. After that, their picks were a bit underwhelming, however, they have been able to make a decent enough squad. Martin Guptill was picked in the supplementary draft, which can be a smart decision. They also used their RTM on Naseem Shah and picked up PJL sensation Aimal Khan in the emerging category.

Platinum: Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)

Diamond: Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy (England), Odean Smith (West Indies)

Gold: Ahsan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed

Silver: Mohammad Zahid, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Umar Akmal, Umaid Asif, Will Smeed (England)

Emerging: Aimal Khan, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai

Supplementary: Martin Guptill (New Zealand), Omair Bin Yousuf