The drafting of cricketers for the fifth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held in Lahore on Friday (December 6). All the six franchises picked players by keeping in mind the change in venue as the tournament returns to Pakistan.
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Defending champions Quetta Gladiators roped in the likes of Jason Roy and Sohail Khan. Runners-up Peshawar Zalmi, meanwhile, retained all their three Platinum picks from last year and did well to bolster certain key slots by adding Shoaib Malik and Rahat Ali to their roster.
On the other hand, Islamabad United opted to go for players that have already been in their side as they brought back the likes of RummanRaees and Phil Salt among others. The inaugural PSL champions also secured the services of legendary South Africa pacer Dale Steyn.
Karachi Kings strengthened their top order by fetching hard-hitters such as Alex Hales and Sharjeel Khan.
With some smart picks, struggling franchises Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans have also strengthened their squad. Qalandars now have the swashbuckling Chris Lynn at their disposal whereas Sultans have Moeen Ali and Rilee Rossouw.
The tournament is scheduled to start on February 20. Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi are expected to host the matches.
Following is the list of the finalized teams:
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 Patel, Seekkuge 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, Abdul Nasir, Sohail Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Keemo Paul, Aarish Ali, Azam Khan
