Karachi Kings have traded Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam to Peshawar Zalmi ahead of the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
In return, the Kings will get Haider Ali, who becomes their only Platinum pick and Shoaib Malik who joins Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim in the diamond category. Quetta Gladiators were also reported to have shown a significant interest in the opener but could not match Zalmi’s offer.
The Kinds endured a terrible PSL 7 despite Babar Azam being his usual best while being criticised for his approach by his own team Chairman Wasim Akram forcing him to move to Peshawar Zalmi.
The Peshawar-based side is a two-time PSL champion and will be coached by Daren Sammy for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, during the trade and retention window, Zalmi was the only side to retain 7 players instead of the allowed 8.
In the draft, all teams can pick up to three each in Platinum, Diamond and Gold categories, five in Silver, two in Emerging and two in Supplementary categories.
Lahore Qalandars retained their core except for Fakhar Zaman who they intend to pick with their first anyways.
The defending champions retained Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Abdullah Shafique, Harry Brook and Kamran Ghulam but Mohammad Hafeez has been let go.
Gladiators retained captain Sarfaraz Ahmed but released Naseem Shah intending to pick him with the second pick. Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy, Mohammad Hasnain, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal and Will Smeed have been retained.
Multan Sultans retained Mohammad Rizwan. Tim David was also retained but was demoted to Gold. Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, Shahnawaz Dahani, Abbas Afridi and Ihsanullah will also be with the team.
Islamabad has kept hold of Shadab Khan, the Player of the Tournament nominee at this year’s World Cup, alongside Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim. Colin Munro, Paul Stirling, and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan are not going anywhere either.
Full list of retained players:
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (Platinum). Asif Ali (Brand Ambassador) and Mohammad Wasim (Diamond). Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali (Gold). Colin Munro and Paul Stirling (Silver).
Karachi Kings: Haider Ali (Platinum). Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Shoaib Malik (Diamond). Aamir Yamin, Mir Hamza and Sharjeel Khan (Silver). Qasim Akram (Emerging)
Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rashid Khan (Platinum). Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador) and David Wiese (Diamond). Abdullah Shafique (Gold). Kamran Ghulam and Harry Brook (Silver). Zaman Khan (Emerging).
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (Platinum). Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw and Shan Masood (Diamond). Shahnawaz Dahani (Brand Ambassador) and Tim David (Gold). Abbas Afridi and Ihsanullah (Emerging).
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (Platinum). Sherfane Rutherford and Wahab Riaz (Diamond). Mohammad Haris (Gold). Aamir Jamal (Brand Ambassador), Salman Irshad and Tom-Kohler Cadmore (Silver).
Quetta Gladiators: Mohammad Nawaz (Platinum). Iftikhar Ahmed and Jason Roy (Diamond). Mohammad Hasnain and Sarfaraz Ahmed (Gold). Naveen-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal (Mentor) and Will Smeed (Silver)
For the draft, 493 overseas players have registered in different categories; the most being from England (140), followed by Sri Lanka (60), Afghanistan (43), West Indies (38), Bangladesh (28), South Africa (25), Australia (14), Zimbabwe (11) and Ireland (9).
29 players are listed in the Platinum category and 81 in the Diamond category.
