Lahore, The teams of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) have announced several supplementary and replacement players for the ninth edition of the tournament, set to begin on 17 February. These announcements were made during the Replacement Draft, which was conducted via a conference call on Monday.
According to Pakistan Cricket Board, Peshawar Zalmi, one of the six teams in the league, made significant changes to their squad. They drafted Waqar Salamkheil and Arshad Iqbal in the silver category as replacements for Lungi Ngidi and Khurram Shahzad, respectively. Peshawar Zalmi also roped in Gus Atkinson and West Indies’ Shamar Joseph as partial replacements, while reserving their pick for Naveen ul Haq’s partial availability.
Lahore Qalandars have reserved their picks for Rashid Khan and Dan Lawrence, who will be unavailable fully and partially, respectively. Similarly, Islamabad United reserved their pick for Tom Curran, who is not participating in this HBL PSL edition. Karachi Kings have brought in Zahid Mehmood as a partial replacement for Kieron Pollard and reserved their pick for Tim Seifert, who joins the squad after New Zealand’s T20Is.
Quetta Gladiator made a strategic replacement by drafting Bismillah Khan for Wanindu Hasaranga, who will leave the squad due to international commitments. The third supplementary round of the draft saw left-arm pacers Luke Wood and Obed McCoy joining Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, respectively. Karachi Kings picked English batter Leus De Plooy, while Lahore Qalandars chose Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
In the same round, Multan Sultans selected West Indian wicketkeeper-batter Johnson Charles, and Quetta Gladiators went for English batter Laurie Evans. The fourth round saw Multan Sultans picking up Muhammad Shahzad, a promising 19-year-old. Islamabad United drafted Haider Ali, marking his fifth HBL PSL season. Quetta Gladiators reserved their pick in this round.
Peshawar Zalmi chose left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, and Lahore Qalandars picked Tayyab Abbas from their player development program. Karachi Kings concluded their draft by selecting 21-year-old Mohammad Rohid.
These strategic picks and replacements are crucial for the teams as they gear up for the competitive matches ahead in the HBL PSL. The fans and teams are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming games, anticipating exciting performances from the new and existing players in the league.