More than 425 players from 32 countries register themselves for the draft
LAHORE: Team officials looking to finalise the best possible combinations for the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Sunday participated in the player draft for the tournament held at the National High-Performance Centre.
Platinum category: The first pick of the day, in the Platinum Category, was Fakhar Zaman, who has been chosen once more by Lahore Qalandars for its squad this year. Other players chosen by franchises in the category include Tim David by Multan Sultans, Chris Jordan by Karachi Kings, Colin Munro by Islamabad United, Hazaratullah Zazai by Peshawar Zalmi and Jason Roy by Quetta Gladiators.
Diamond category: The Diamond category round saw Islamabad United pick Marchant De Lange, Multan Sultans pick Odean Smith, Karachi Kings pick Lewis Gregory, and Quetta Gladiators bag James Faulkner.
Gold category: In the Gold category, Lahore Qalandars chose Abdullah Shafique, Phil Salt and Harry Brook, while Peshawar Zalmi picked Usman Qadir.
Silver category round 1: In round one of the Silver category, Peshawar Zalmi picked Salman Arshad, Multan Sultans picked Rumman Raees and Asif Afridi, Karachi Kings picked Umaid Asif, Lahore Qalandars chose Kamran Ghulam and Islamabad United chose M Akhlaq.
Silver category round 2: Round two for the Silver category saw Multan Sultans pick Anwar Ali, Islamabad United pick Reece Topley and Danish Aziz, Karachi Kings pick Tom Abell, Lahore Qalandars pick Dean Foxcroft, and Quetta Gladiators pick Umar Akmal.
Silver category round 3: In round three for the Silver category, Quetta Gladiators picked Sohail Tanvir, Karachi Kings picked Rohail Nazir and M Imran Jr, Islamabad United picked Zafar Gohar, Peshawar Zalmi picked Arshad Iqbal, and Multan Sultans picked Rovman Powell.
Silver category round 4: The Silver category picks concluded in the fourth round, with Peshawar Zalmi choosing Sameen Gul and Kamran Akmal as their final picks, Quetta Gladiators choosing Ben Duckett, Khurram Shehzad and Naveen ul Haq, and Multan Sultans choosing Imran Khan Sr.
Emerging category round 1: In the first round of the Emerging category that features the country’s budding cricketers, Lahore Qalandars picked Zaman Khan, Multan Sultans picked Abbas Afridi, Karachi Kings picked Faisal Akram and utilising its Right to Match card also picked Qasim Akram, Peshawar Zalmi picked Sirajuddin, Islamabad United picked Mubasir Khan and Quetta Gladiators picked Abdul Qahid Bangalzai.
Emerging category round 2: In round two for the Emerging category, Multan Sultans picked Aamer Azmat, Islamabad United picked Zeeshan Zameer using their Right to Match card, Peshawar Zalmi picked M Amir Khan, Quetta Gladiators picked Ashar Qureshi and Lahore Qalandars picked Maaz Khan.
Supplementary category round 1: In the first round of the Supplementary category, Quetta Gladiators picked Noor Ahmad, Karachi Kings picked Talha Ahsan, Multan Sultans picked Blessing Muzarabani, Peshawar Zalmi picked Ben Cutting, Islamabad United picked Rahmanulah Gurbaz and Lahore Qalandars picked Samit Patel.
Supplementary category round 2: Round two of the Supplementary category concluded the draft for PSL 2022. During the round, Peshawar Zalmi picked Noor Ahmad, Islamabad United picked Athar Mehmood, Karachi Kings picked Romario Shepherd, Quetta Gladiators picked Ahsan Ali, Multan Sultans picked Ihsanullah and Lahore Qalandars picked Syed Faridoun.
Draft rules: More than 425 players from 32 countries registered themselves for the draft. Draft rules were shared earlier today by PSL on Twitter. Under the rules, teams are allowed to retain up to eight players (more on that below). In the Platinum category, a minimum of one foreign and one local player must be ensured and the same applies to the Diamond category.
In addition, teams must pick three foreign players in the first nine picks.
Each team will be given a Wild card and a Right to Match card. The Right to Match card, a feature introduced this year, means each side will have one card that they can utilise during the draft to pick a player originally released from their roster.
Pick Order: The updated pick order, in line with trades and retentions, was also shared a day earlier.
In the Platinum Category, Lahore Qalandars will have the first pick, followed by Multan Sultans, Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators.
Each franchise can comprise up to 18 players, including three each in the Platinum, Diamond, and Gold categories, five in the Silver, two Emerging and up to two in the Supplementary categories.
The retention, trade, and release window of the PSL 2022 closed on Friday afternoon with Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, and Peshawar Zalmi consuming their full allocation of eight retentions, while Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators retaining seven players each.
The tournament will start on January 27, with 34 matches scheduled to be played in Karachi and Lahore.
The first match will be staged under the lights of the National Stadium, where Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans will go head-to-head. Agencies