The first players draft Pakistan Super League T20 has been held today in Lahore at the Pakistan Cricket Board headquarters. Six teams Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United have attended the auction. All teams have picked their maximum five years of 16 team tournament, but two categories are to be finished. The silver and emerging categories will resume tomorrow at 11.30 morning.
In the first draft of the day, Shahid Afridi has been picked up by his home city Peshawar for $2 million. Today’s draft has divided into three gems-Platinum, Diamond, and Gold.
Shoaib Malik, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen and Chris Gayle were the first pick for Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, and Lahore respectively.
In this much-anticipated draft, the most exciting moment was Mohammad Amir’s pick. Amir has produced a good performance in the Bangladesh premier League (BPL). Karachi Kings coach Wasim Akram did not hesitate to draft Amir as the auction resumed after the launch.
Lahore Qalandars was seen the wisest in the auction as they made a balanced team for the inaugural PSL T20 tournament. Their first pick of the day was the most explosive T20 batsman Chris Gayle. With Dwyane Bravo, Umar Akmal, 23-year-old promising batsman Mohammad Rizwan, and best leg spinner in their side Lahore look the most strong team of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United also built a balanced team. Islamabad has made Misbah Ul Haq their captain. They got two allrounders- Shane Watson and Andre Russell- along with pacer Mohammad Irfan. But, their batting department do not look strong. With Brad Haddin and Misbah, batting side looks shaky. On the other Quetta emphasis on batting department in the first two gems. They picked Kevin Pietersen in the Platinum round. Among their Pakistani recruits wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad and Anwar Ali are the important names. Their bowling department look okay with Jason Holder and Anwar Ali in their rank.
Here is what teams look like after the end of Platinum ($2 million, Diamond $70,000) and Gold ($50,000) categories. The silver and emerging categories will be held tomorrow
Peshawar Zalmi
Platinum: Shahid Afridi (first pick), Wahab Riaz, Darren Sammy
Diamond: Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan
Gold: Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Jim Allenby
Head coach: Mohammad Akram
Karachi Kings
Platinum: Shoaib Malik (first pick), Shakib Al Hasan, Sohail Tanvir
Diamond: Imad Wasim, Ravi Bopara, Lendl Simmons
Gold: Mohammad Amir, Bilawal Bhatti, James Vince
Head coach: Mickey Arthur
Islamabad United
Platinum: Shane Watson (first pick), Andre Russell, Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt)
Diamond: Samuel Badree, Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin
Gold: Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif
Head coach: Dean Jones
Quetta Gladiators
Platinum Kevin Pietersen (first pick), Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad
Diamond Anwar Ali, Jason Holder, Luke Wright
Gold Zulfiqar Babar, Umar Gul, Elton Chigumbura
Head coach Moin Khan
Lahore Qalandars
Platinum: Chris Gayle (first pick), Dwayne Bravo, Umar Akmal
Diamond: Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood
Gold: Mustafizur Rahman, Kevon Cooper, Cameron Delport
Head coach: Paddy Upton