The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have announced Gwadar as the center to host the players draft of the tenth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on January 11 without consulting the franchises who are the key stakeholders of the marquee league.
A well-placed source in one of the franchises told Point that the PCB didn’t consult the franchises before announcing Gwadar as host of the players’ draft.
"The franchises would also not object to the step of the PCB to announce Gwadar as host to the event’s players draft but at least the Board should have consulted the matter with them before taking this decision,” the source revealed.
"Look, franchises have invested a lot and are the backbone of the league. It was their right to be consulted on this subject before taking the decision,” the source added.
The other day the PCB announced Gwadar as the host to the players draft ceremony. The event will be held on January 11 with the PCB yet to announce the exact time of the event.
The PCB in its press release the other day had said that the decision to choose Gwadar was made with the aim of taking the popular sport to the people of that part of the province and inspire the next generation to take up cricket as a professional sport.
“Gwadar, with its stunning coastline and strategic importance, represents the heart of Pakistan’s economic future. By hosting the PSL player draft here we aim to highlight its cultural and economic significance while celebrating the unity cricket brings to our nation,” the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was quoted as saying.
“I look forward to welcoming all the franchises and the relevant stakeholders to the beautiful city of Gwadar on 11 January as we take an exciting step towards marking the start of the 10th edition of Pakistan’s biggest sporting extravaganza.”
The activities for next year’s PSL’s have already started as the PCB last Tuesday also confirmed 87 players renewal categories.
As many as three Test cricketers including Hasan Ali of Karachi Kings, Mohammad Amir of Quetta Gladiators and Saim Ayub of Peshawar Zalmi along with Usama Mir of Multan Sultans have been promoted to the platinum category from the Diamond category.
Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan (both Islamabad United), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi (all Lahore Qalandars), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (both Multan Sultans) and Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi) were retained in platinum. category.
As many as 16 players are part of the diamond category which includes Quetta Gladiators’ and Multan Sultans four players each, three players from Karachi Kings, Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi’s two players each, while Lahore Qalandars have one player in this category.
Moreover 30 players are part of the gold category which includes Peshawar Zalmi’s seven players in this category. Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators have five players while Islamabad United and Multan Sultans have four players in gold category.
In the 16 players selected in silver category, four Gladiators’ and Qalandars players are part of this category while Peshawar Zalmi have three players in this category. Kings and Sultans have two players each in silver category while United have one player in this category.
In the emerging category, among the 12 players selected, three players each are part of Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi. Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans have two players while Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators have one player each.
The other week the PCB opened registration window for foreign players.
Meanwhile the other day the PCB also announced the PSL fans choice awards celebrating nine years of the league. Local and foreign players, who have participated in the previous edition will be nominated and the nominations will then be opened for fan voting.
And the players with highest number of votes in each category of the six including best batter, best bowler, best all-rounder, most valuable player (MVP), best individual bowling performance and best individual batting performance, will be declared the winner at the players draft to be held in Gwadar.
Islamabad United have the event for a record three times. Lahore Qalandars have won it two times while Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans have lifted the trophy once each.
United will defend the title in the event, which this time which will also clash with the Indian Premier League (IPL). The PCB was forced to shift the marquee event to April-May 2025 due to the ICC Champions Trophy which Pakistan will host in February-March.
