Jason Roy, the swashbuckling England opener, was the first name to be picked in the Platinum Category of the Pakistan Super League draft process held in Lahore on Friday (December 6).
Roy was picked up by the defending champions Quetta Gladiators, having represented them in a couple of games the last edition as well. Meanwhile, Lahore Qalandars, who have never hoisted the PSL trophy, opted for Chris Lynn in the Platinum Category. Moeen Ali (Multan Sultans), Dale Steyn (Islamabad United), Alex Hales (Karachi Kings), Colin Ingram (Islamabad United) and Rilee Rossouw (Multan Sultans), also were signed up from the Platinum category.
In the Diamond Category, Tom Banton, the promising batsman from Somerset, was bagged by Peshawar Zalmi, with his England team-mate Chris Jordan going to Karachi. Colin Munro, renowned for his hitting prowess, was picked up by Islamabad. Ben Cutting, the hard-hitting Australian all-rounder, would play for Quetta next season while the experienced England allrounder Ravi Bopara went to Multan. Peshawar signed the seasoned pro-Shoaib Malik.
In Gold Category, Shrarjeel, who was given a two and a half years ban for his involvement in the 2017 PSL spot-fixing scandal, made a return to the tournament with Karachi bagging him. Fawad Ahmed, the legspinner, was retained by Quetta. Samit Patel (Lahore), Rumman Raees (Islamabad), Sohail Tanvir (Multan), Liam Dawson (Peshawar) and Cameron Delport (Karachi), were the other picks from the Gold Category.
In the Emerging Category, Rohail Nazir, Pakistan’s Under-19 captain, was bagged by Multan. In the Supplementary Round, Liam Plunkett, the England pacer, went to Karachi. Imran Tahir, the experienced South African legspinner, was taken by Multan. Rassie van der Dussen, who has already made an impact in the international arena, went to Islamabad. Keemo Paul, the Windies all-rounder, will make his debut in the league, with Quetta picking him.
The tournament is scheduled to start in February next year. Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi are expected to host the matches, with UAE as the back-up option.
Here are how the teams stack up:
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan, Amad Butt, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Muhammad Musa, Rizwan Hussain, Luke Ronchi, Dale Steyn, Colin Ingram, Colin MunroRumman Raees, Zafar Gohar, Phil Salt, Akif Javed, Rassie van der Dussen, Saif Badar, Ahmed Safi Abdullah
Karachi Kings: Imad Wasim (c), Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Aamer Yamin, Usama Mir, Umer Khan, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Sharjeel Khan, Cameron Delport, Ali Khan, Dan Lawrence, Mohammad Rizwan, Umaid Asif, Liam Plunkett, Awais Zia, Arshad Iqbal
Lahore Qalandars: Sohail Akhtar (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Afridi, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Salman Butt, Usman Shinwari, Fakhar Zaman, Chris Lynn, Samit PatelSeekkuge Prasanna, Ben Dunk, Jaahid Ali, Raja Farzan, Faizan Khan, Lendl Simmons, Dilbar Hussain
Multan Sultans: Shahid Afridi, Ali Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Ilyas, James Vince, Junaid Khan, Shan Masood, Moeen Ali, Rilee Rossouw, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ravi Bopara, Sohail Tanvir, Rohail Nazir, Khushdil Shah, Fabian Allen, Usman Qadir, Imran Tahir, Bilawal Bhatti
Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (c), Hasan Ali, Kamran Akmal, Umar Amin, Imam-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Wahab Riaz, Tom Banton, Shoaib Malik, Liam Dawson.Mohammad Mohsin, Rahat Ali, Adil Amin, Dwaine Pretorius, Liam Livingstone, Haider Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan, Aamir Ali
Quetta Gladiators: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Ahsan Ali, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Shane Watson, Umar Akmal, Jason Roy, Fawad Ahmed, Tymal Mills, bdul Nasir, Sohail Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Keemo Paul, Aarish Ali, Azam Khan
