Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam has been placed in the platinum category in the upcoming draft for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2021. He was the Player of the Tournament in the 2020 edition after scoring 473 runs in 12 matches.

Azam is joined by Karachi Kings teammates Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir in the Platinum category, apart from Islamabad United’s Shadab Khan. However, Faheem Ashraf moves down to the Diamond category for PSL 2021.

Peshawar Zalmi's trio of Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, and Wahab Riaz have been placed in the Platinum category while fast bowler Hasan Ali moves to the Diamond category. Multan Sultans captain Shan Masood has moved up to the Diamond category, with impressive performances in PSL 2020 and National T20 Cup.

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Shahid Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Sohail Tanvir have been placed in the Platinum category. Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain moves up from Gold to Diamond after ending as Quetta's leading wicket-taker in the PSL 2020 with 15 wickets.

Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Hafeez remain in the platinum category, while Haris Rauf moves to the diamond category. With the category renewal process and pick order finalized, the transfer and retention window is now officially open.

The list was then reviewed by Director - High-Performance Nadeem Khan and GM Commercial Imran Ahmed Khan, who has been leading player acquisition for PSL since 2017.

(ANI inputs)