The draft for the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) took place on December 12 in Lahore, where the six franchises selected their teams.
Before the draft, all the franchises were allowed to retain a maximum of eight players, while the teams must have a squad of 16 players and two additional supplementary members.
The 16-man squad ought to have five foreign and 11 local players; while the 18-member squad can have six foreign and 12 local players or five foreign and 13 local players.
The draft for the competition is as competitive as the glittering T20 tournament where franchises have to make some tough decisions, take strategic steps, pick and choose players carefully, statistically analyse the conditions and the utility of players in those situations.
It will not be an overstatement if one concludes that some of the team’s fate is decided during the drafts to a great extent, even before a ball is bowled.
As the six teams shaped up their troops for this year’s PSL battle, we talked to the relevant people of the franchises about the thought process behind the selection of the players.
Multan Sultans
Multan Sultans, who joined the PSL in the fourth edition, emerged as the winners in the 2021 edition under the leadership of star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.
The newbie had two quiet seasons after they were inducted into the league. They were captained by the experienced all-rounder Shoaib Malik in the debut season and finished second last, just ahead of Lahore Qalandars.
In the 2019 episode, the Southern Punjab-based franchise was once again disappointing as they again failed to make it to the playoffs and ended up at the fifth spot.
In their third edition, the team found their groove under the leadership of opening batter Shan Masood and for the first time they advanced to the playoff stage. However, they lost both of their games and failed to reach the final.
The management decided to hand the captaincy band to their latest recruitment, Rizwan, who led from the front and steered the side to their maiden PSL title after beating Peshawar Zalmi in the all-important game by 47 runs.
After the PSL 2022 draft, Sultans Chief Operating Officer Haider Azhar sounded confident about the chosen 18 while talking to Bol News.
“In previous editions, we suffered due to a lack of core players,” he said. “We joined the league in the fourth edition of the tournament so we struggled in building our core group of players but now the team has managed to select its key members.”
The defending champions picked Australia’s Tim David, who was previously associated with Lahore Qalandars in the Platinum category, which Azhar believes was the best bet.
“We planned this move as we were looking for a lower-order foreign batter. David was the best choice in the given options; therefore we used a wild card to get him,” he explained
Sultans also picked destructive West Indian duo of all-rounder Odean Smith and middle-order batter Rovman Powell. Moreover, they also roped in bowling all-rounder Anwar Ali and left-arm pacer Rumman Raees.
“The overall team is balanced and we are ready to defend the title,” he said.
Full Squad:
Draft picks: Tim David, Odean Smith, Rumman Raees, Asif Afridi, Anwar Ali, Rovman Powell, Imran Khan Sr, Aamer Azmat, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah and Blessing Muzarabani
Retained: Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (both Platinum), Imran Tahir (Diamond; Mentor), Sohaib Maqsood (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold; Brand Ambassador), Shahnawaz Dahani and Shan Masood (both Gold)
Peshawar Zalmi
Peshawar Zalmi have been one of the most consistent teams of the franchise-based league so far. Moreover, the Yellow Storm, as they call themselves, also have a huge fan following in the country.
The Javed Afridi-owned franchise was captained by the star all-rounder Shahid Afridi in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2016. The unit put on an impressive show and had secured the third spot in the competition.
Then the captaincy band was transferred to West Indies’ allrounder Darren Sammy in 2017, who led the squad till 2020. Under his captaincy, Zalmi were crowned the champions in 2017 and were runner-ups in the next editions in 2018 and 2019, while they were knocked out in the playoffs in the 2020 season.
In the last edition, they were once again impressive and were close to winning their second title, but Multan Sultans outclassed them in the final to hand the second spot for the third time in the history of PSL.
Zalmi have picked a strong side to compete in the 2022 edition of the league as they intended to, except the fast-bowling allrounders Umaid Asif and Amad Butt.
They picked some handy players during the draft in the shape of Afghanistan’s opening batter Hazratullah Zazai, leg-spinner Usman Qadir, Hussain Talat and Salman Irshad.
Zalmi had also initially released the seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal, but they picked him again in the Silver category during the draft’s fifth round.
The 39-year-old did not like the move from the franchise and refused to play in the category, calling it ‘humiliation’.
However, their differences were sorted on Wednesday after the veteran keeper agreed to take part as a player and a mentor.
Commenting on the development, Zalmi Director Mohammad Akram maintained that everything with Akmal has been sorted out and he is ready to play.
“In the Gold category, we had two options Usman Qadir and Kamran Akmal, so we went for the leggie as we observed that other franchises were also interested in him,” he shared. “We did conditional changes and picked Qadir in our first Gold pick and later selected Akmal in the Silver category. We explained the decision to the opening batter and he is with us.”
Full Squad:
Draft picks: Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Qadir, Salman Irshad, Arshad Iqbal, Sameen Gul, Kamran Akmal, Sirajuddin, Mohammad Amir Khan, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Harris
Retained: Liam Livingstone, Wahab Riaz (both Platinum), Haider Ali, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik (all Diamond), Hussain Talat (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Gold; Brand Ambassador) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver)
Lahore Qalandars
It will not be an overstatement if Lahore Qalandars are termed as the most consistent team in the T20 festival thus far.
However, this is something that Qalandars’ fans would not like to hear as they have been consistently poor with their on-field performances, finishing last on five out of the six occasions and managing to qualify for the playoffs only once — in the 2020 edition.
Despite their dismal run in the league, they are one of the most exciting teams to watch and have a large fan following.
The Lahore-based franchise took unpredictability to a whole new level, just like they showed in the previous campaign. When the Pakistan leg halted because of the coronavirus outbreak, they were on top of the table with four wins out of five. However, in the UAE-led, they lost four in a row and finished in fifth place in the league table.
Moreover, their owner, Fawad Rana is one of the most loved personalities in the country’s cricketing fraternity. He is as entertaining for fans as his franchise, always expressive and animated.
This year, Qalandars have made some interesting picks in the likes of Dean Foxcroft and Harry Brookes.
“We try to select players who are working hard and we choose new players as they are more enthusiastic about cementing their place,” said head coach Aaqib Javed.
The former fast-bowler also took the credit for introducing Singapore’s Tim David in the PSL, who put up an impressive show and has been roped in by Multan Sultans for the upcoming season.
“This time we are introducing English player Harry Brook, who has also captained England’s U-19 side. His recent big bash records are remarkable,” he mentioned “Moreover, Foxcroft is a South Africa-born cricketer and is among the most promising youngsters in domestic cricket, having a batting average of 51.15 and 41.46 in List A and T20 cricket, respectively.”
Qalandars have always heavily relied on aggressive batters like Fakhar Zaman, Ben Dunk and others. Therefore, according to Javed, they have opted for Kamran Ghulam, who is a level headed player and can provide the team with much-needed stability.
“In T20 cricket, it is not necessary that you only need aggressive players. You have seen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan play proper shots and outshining their contemporaries,” he maintained.
The franchise have also attempted to strengthen their batting by picking young talented batter Abdullah Shafiq alongside Zaman and others.
Javed seems quite confident about their bowling as they have some of the best pacers and spinners in the contingent.
“Our bowling department has been exceptional for the last two years as we have the finest bowlers of the world like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rashid Khan, and Haris Rauf,” he stated.
However, they had to let go, Dilbar Hussain, who is Qalandars’ player development programme product, because he was unavailable due to an injury.
Instead, they have selected young pacer from Azad Kashmir Zaman Khan, leg-spinner Maaz Khan and chinaman Syed Faridoun. Both the spinners are Qalandars’ finds.
Full Squad:
Draft picks: Fakhar Zaman (Platinum), Abdullah Shafique, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel and Syed Faridoun
Retained: Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (both Platinum), Haris Rauf (Diamond; Brand Ambassador), David Wiese, Mohammad Hafeez (both Diamond), Ahmed Daniyal, Sohail Akhtar and Zeeshan Ashraf (all Silver)
Islamabad United
Islamabad United were the surprise package when the PSL first started. They looked like an underwhelming prospect with little hype around them. However, they quietly squeezed into the final and were crowned the first-ever PSL champions.
In the second season, they could only manage to reach the playoffs. Then, in the third edition, they once again lifted the trophy under the leadership of South Africa’s JP Duminy.
In the next three episodes of the action-packed tournament, they advanced to playoffs, eliminated in the first round and again qualified for the knockout stage in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
For the upcoming edition, United released some of the players who were with them since PSL 2016, including pacer Rumman Raees and all-rounder Hussain Talat.
Moreover, the franchise made an interesting move by releasing young wicketkeeper-batter Rohail Nazir and decided to replace him with Quetta Gladiators’ hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan.
“In the draft, you have to leave some players even if you don’t want to,” said Islamabad United Head of Strategy Hassan Cheema. “We didn’t want to leave both Iftikhar Ahmed and Rohail Nazir, but to manage the category, players have to go.”
Cheema further elaborated that Azam was a viable option to replace Nazir as he is an explosive batter as compared to the former. Moreover, the head of strategy believes that the 23-year-old is a better player of spin.
“If you look at our batting line, there are more players who play well against fast bowlers like Alex Hales, Colin Munro and Asif Ali, Azam has a good record against spinners which will strengthen the team,” he explained.
Draft picks: Colin Munro, Marchant de Lange, Muhammad Akhlaq, Reece Topley, Danish Aziz, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan, Zeeshan Zameer (Right to Match), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Athar Mahmood
Retained: Asif Ali, Hasan Ali (both Platinum), Faheem Ashraf (Diamond), Shadab Khan (Diamond; Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (Gold; Mentor), Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr (both Gold) and Paul Stirling (Silver)
Potential first XI: Paul Stirling, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Shahdab Khan, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Muhammad Zeeshan/Mubasir Khan and Marchant De Lange
Karachi Kings
Karachi Kings, the franchise named after the biggest city in the country, did not perform as per the expectations initially.
Kings advanced to the playoffs in every season of the league, arguably because they had a competition against Lahore Qalandars and the latter was always up to be eliminated in the first round.
Finally, the Men-in-Blue found the right combination and eventually, after struggling for four instalments, they reached the final and won it, that too against Qalandars.
This year, it looks like they have kind of a weaker squad. They have retained players like Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Amir who seem like spent forces.
However, the Kings are happy with the squad and claim that they have got the players according to their requirements.
“The draft went well for us,” said Karachi Kings General Manager Faisal Mirza. “The team has good options of batting as well as bowling.”
The 2020 Champions have got a blend of experienced and young players. They have seasoned campaigners like England’s Chris Jordan, Amir, Sharjeel, Imad Wasim, captain Babar Azam and Umaid Asif. On the other hand, they have young blood like Qasim Akram, Romario Shephard and Tom Abell to take the team forward.
“The first-leg of the league is scheduled to take place in Karachi so it’s a good opportunity for the team to get momentum with the support of the home crowd,” Mirza added.
Full Squad:
Draft picks: Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Tom Abell, Rohail Nazir, Mohammad Imran (wildcard: from Emerging to Silver), Qasim Akram (Right to Match), Faisal Akram, Talha Ahsan, Romario Shepherd
Retained: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim (both Platinum), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nabi (both Diamond), Joe Clarke (Gold; Brand Ambassador), Aamer Yamin, Sharjeel Khan (both Gold) and Mohammad Ilyas (Silver)
Quetta Gladiators
Quetta Gladiators were an unstoppable force when the PSL first started. In the inaugural edition of the league, they stormed into the final, where they lost to Islamabad United.
In the second season, they were once again superior to others and went on to book a berth in the final for the second consecutive time. However, as Gladiators’ key foreign players refused to travel to Pakistan to play the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, they had to play with an under-strengthen side that lost to Zalmi.
They had an underwhelming third season where they could only reach the playoffs, but could not qualify for the final.
In 2019, they were a dominating force, winning nine games and losing only three during their campaign. They went on to win the PSL title for the first time by defeating Zalmi in an all-important final.
However, after that edition, Gladiators have seen a dip in their performance. In the last two editions of the 20-over tournament, they could not even reach the playoffs.
In the last season of the league, they managed to register just two wins and lost as many as eight games.
This time, they have looked to shuffle a few things, adding experienced cricketers in the lineup.
Gladiators are glad to have the ‘biggest brand’ of Pakistan cricket, the seasoned all-rounder Shahid Afridi in the side.
“Afridi is going to be a massive boost for Quetta both on and off the field,” said Gladiators Head of Media Nabeel Hashmi. “He remains the biggest brand in Pakistan and one of the best white-ball cricketers Pakistan has ever produced.”
Furthermore, they have included two vastly experienced T20 specialist pacers, Sohail Tanvir and James Faulkner in the squad. Though these picks can be risky as they can be expensive in Karachi’s playing conditions, in particular, Gladiators are confident that they will complement their young pacers well.
“With Sohail Tanvir and James Faulkner, Quetta Gladiators have got two senior world-class bowling options who are decent with the bat too,” he said. “The experience of Tanvir and Faulkner along with the youthful aggression of [Mohammad] Hasnain and Naseem [Shah] will be a great mix for us.”
The Nadeem Omar-owned franchise have also gone for the controversy-stricken middle-order batter Umar Akmal. They have made an interesting move that can go either way.
“We believe in a second chance to improve that’s why we have picked Umar Akmal,” shared team owner Nadeem. “He is a good middle-order player and has good chemistry with the coach Moin Khan. I hope that this time he’ll focus on his game and perform to get a place in the national team.”
Draft picks: Jason Roy, James Faulkner, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Ben Duckett, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Ashir Qureshi, Ahsan Ali and Noor Ahmed
Retained: James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed (both Platinum), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz (both Diamond), Shahid Afridi (Gold; Mentor), Mohammad Hasnain (Gold; Brand Ambassador) and Naseem Shah (Gold)
