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LAHORE — Pakistan’s Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi Monday became the first pick of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after Peshawar Zalmi signed up the flashy all-rounder to play for its franchise.
Karachi Kings made interesting bids, bagging Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik and fast bowler Mohammad Amir.
With 308 cricketers on board, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) kicked off players’ drafting for ‘Platinum’, ‘Diamond’ and ‘Gold’ categories in National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore. The list includes 137 Pakistani and 171 foreign players.
The second phase of drafting is scheduled to take place at NCA Tuesday. Players belonging to the ‘Silver’ and ‘Emerging’ categories will be inducted into the league’s five franchises.
Each team will be required to pick three players per category from each of the top three categories (Platinum, Diamond and Gold).
While drafting two emerging players will be mandatory, a team will also be able to pick up to five players from the ‘Silver’ category in order to complete the squad.
Each team will have a minimum of four foreign players in the playing 11. The inaugural edition of the PSL is scheduled to take place from Feb. 4-23, 2016 in Dubai and Sharjah.
Afridi said he would have loved to play for any team but it made more sense for him to play for Peshawar Zalmi because it complements the work his foundation is doing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s remote areas.
Giving credit to the PCB for organizing the mega cricket league, Afridi said the platform should be used to encourage new talent.
Karachi Kings didn’t hesitate in signing up the former captain Shoaib Malik to play for it, while Quetta Gladiators secured England star Kevin Pietersen.
But Lahore Qalandars perhaps made the most interesting pick for its franchise by signing West Indian hardhitter Chris Gayle. Shane Watson of Australia was picked up by Islamabad United.
The teams as they stand at the end of the Platinum, Diamond and Gold rounds:
Islamabad United: Shane Watson, Andre Russell, Misbahul Haq, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif.
Karachi Kings: Shoaib Malik, Shakib Al Hasan, Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Ravi Bopara, Lendl Simmons, Mohammad Amir, Bilawal Bhatti, James Vince.
Peshawar Zalmi: Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Darren Sammy, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Jim Allenby.
Quetta Gladiators: Kevin Pietersen, Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Jason Holder, Luke Wright, Zulfiqar Babar, Umar Gul, Elton Chigumbura.
Lahore Qalandars: Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Shoaib Maqsood, Mustafizur Rahman, Kevon Cooper, Cameron Delport. — Agencies
