The upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2024) has suffered a big blow even before it could get underway as several big high-profile international players have pulled out of the competition.
The reason for the players’ decision to not play in PSL 2024 is the overlapping of dates with other franchise-based tournaments. Another reason is several cricket board’s decision to deny the players the permission to participate in domestic T20 competitions, according to a report in Business Standard.
The much-awaited season of the PSL is set to start this week and all the six franchises have lost the services of some key players t the last moment. Multan Sultans have lost several players they had initially signed up for PSL 2024 and the latest to pull out of the tournament is England’s Reece Topley due to an injury.
The ECB also stated that it had not issued the mandatory no-objection certificate (NOC) to Topley to play in the PSL. The report further stated that some other cricket board are also having second thoughts about giving no-objection certificates for PSL.
Teams to miss several players for PSL 2024:
Apart from missing Topley, Multan will also be without Pakistan fast bowler Ehsanullah who is yet to recover fully from the elbow injury he suffered last year. Peshawar Zalmi will be without Lungi Ngidi of South Africa, while Quetta Gladiators will be without Sri Lanka’s Wanandu Hasaranga.
West Indies cricketers Shai Hope, Matthew Forde and Akeal Hosein, South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamshi and Rassie van Der Dussen, England’s James Vince and Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmed and Naveen ul Haq, among others, will also skip the entire tournament.
“The SA20 ended recently and the ILT20 concludes on the day the PSL begins, so it is getting difficult to sign big players now,” said a PSL franchise owner.
Meanwhile, PSL 2024 is scheduled to get underway on February 17. Defending champions Lahore Qalandars will be taking on Islamabad United in the first game of the tournament.