The Pakistan Super League (PSL) gears up for a thrilling season with new faces and familiar stars joining various franchises. The return of the Pollard duo to Karachi Kings after six years stands as a highlight, accompanied by notable international debuts and seasoned picks across teams.
Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams is set to mark his inaugural appearance in the PSL after being snapped up by Karachi Kings in the Platinum round. Joining the league for the first time are South African players Reeza Hendricks (Multan Sultans, Gold) and Lungi Ngidi (Peshawar Zalmi, Supplementary).
The event witnessed Multan Sultans kicking off the evening by securing David Willey, an English all-rounder with a remarkable record of 270 wickets and 3,720 runs in T20 cricket. Peshawar Zalmi bolstered their bowling ranks by picking Noor Ahmad, an 18-year-old spinner from Afghanistan boasting 74 T20 wickets.
Amidst the exciting picks, Islamabad United utilized their wildcard to claim Jordan Cox, an English wicketkeeper-batter with 1,798 T20 runs to his name.
Quetta Gladiators made waves by securing West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford, a middle-order batter with 1,753 runs, and the prolific Mohammad Amir, holding an impressive tally of 303 T20 scalps to fortify their bowling attack.
Karachi Kings orchestrated a grand return, acquiring Kieron Pollard, the West Indies all-rounder with a staggering 12,390 runs and 312 wickets in the shortest format. Daniel Sams, boasting 179 wickets and 1,699 runs, followed as Karachi’s next pick in the Platinum round. Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz concluded their Platinum selections.
Lahore Qalandars continued their momentum with Fakhar Zaman, a consistent performer and the team’s top run-getter in previous PSL editions. They sealed their Platinum round with South African batter Rassie van der Dussen, showcasing an impressive 4,680 T20 runs.
Notable Diamond picks included Sahibzada Farhan, Lahore Qalandars’ reinforcement after headlining the National T20 Cup 2023-24 as the top run-scorer. Multan Sultans chose Dawid Malan, and Islamabad United secured Tymal Mills among others.
The Gold category witnessed Multan Sultans grabbing Reeza Hendricks, the South African top-order batter boasting 5,489 T20 runs and currently holding the 8th spot in the ICC T20I rankings. Quetta Gladiators added West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein in the Supplementary round, ranked as the ninth-best bowler globally.
Each franchise finalized its squad with a mix of seasoned stars and promising talent, setting the stage for an electrifying PSL season.
Full squads:
Lahore Qalandars – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa) (all Platinum), Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), David Wiese (Namibia) and Sahibzada Farhan (Wildcard) (all Diamond), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan (all Gold), Mirza Tahir Baig (Successful relegation request), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Bhatti, Dan Lawrence (England) (all Silver), Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun Mahmood (both Emerging), Shai Hope (West Indies) and Kamran Ghulam (both Supplementary)
Islamabad United – Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Jordan Cox (Wildcard) (England) (all Platinum), Imad Wasim (Mentor), Azam Khan, Tymal Mills (England) (all Diamond), Faheem Ashraf (Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (England), Colin Munro (New Zealand) (all Gold), Rumman Raees (Successful relegation request), Matthew Forde (West Indies), Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan (Silver), Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah (both Emerging), Shamyl Hussain and Tom Curran (England) (both Supplementary)
Multan Sultans – Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, David Willey (England) (all Platinum), Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir, Dawid Malan (England) (all Diamond), Abbas Afridi, Reeza Hendricks (South Africa), Reece Topley (England) (all Gold), Ihsanullah (Brand Ambassador), Tayyab Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Ali, Usman Khan (UAE) (all Silver), Faisal Akram, Yasir Khan (both Emerging), Chris Jordan (England) and Aftab Ibrahim (both Supplementary)
Karachi Kings – Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Daniel Sams (Australia), Mohammad Nawaz (all Platinum), James Vince (England), Hasan Ali, Tim Seifert (New Zealand) (all Diamond), Shan Masood (Brand Ambassador), Shoaib Malik (Mentor), Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa) (all Gold), Mir Hamza (Successful relegation request), Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali and Arafat Minhas (all Silver), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Sirajuddin (both Emerging), Saad Baig and Jamie Overton (England) (both Supplementary)
Quetta Gladiators – Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Mohammad Amir (Platinum), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Jason Roy (England), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) (all Diamond), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Brand Ambassador) Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain (all Gold), Will Smeed (England), Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali Jnr, Usman Qadir, Omair Bin Yousuf (all Silver), Adil Naz, Khawaja Nafay (both Emerging), Akeal Hosein (West Indies) and Sohail Khan (both Supplementary)
Peshawar Zalmi – Babar Azam, Rovman Powell (West Indies), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan) (all Platinum), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Asif Ali (all Diamond), Mohammad Haris (Brand Ambassador), Aamir Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan) (all Gold), Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Daniel Mousley (England) (Silver), Haseebullah, Mohammad Zeeshan (both Emerging), Lungi Ngidi (South Africa) and Mehran Mumtaz (both Supplementary)
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