KARACHI – The Pakistan Super League’s most expensive franchise is expected to reveal the official name of its Sialkot-based franchise today, the officials confirmed.
The announcement would be made at 2pm by OZI Group Chairman and co-owner Kamil Khan, along with other team stakeholders.
A name would be chosen from a shortlist of five final options, which include Sialkot Thunders, Sialkot Sixers, Sialkot Stallions, Sialkot Falcons, and Sialkot Shaheens.
The unveiling is part of the preparations for the upcoming PSL season, as the league continues to expand its footprint to new cities.
Earlier, the reports emerged that Pakistan Super League (PSL) would enter a new phase with the 11th edition as the likely revised categories of local players have surfaced ahead of the league’s first-ever players’ auction.
A provisional list of domestic players’ categories emerged prior to the auction which would replace the traditional draft system for the upcoming season.
Under the proposed list, Islamabad United’s Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim and Naseem Shah have been retained in the Platinum category. Sahibzada Farhan has been placed in Gold, while Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz have been promoted from Diamond to Platinum. Azam Khan has moved from Diamond to Gold.
For Karachi Kings, Hasan Ali was upgraded from Diamond to Platinum while Abbas Afridi was downgraded from Platinum to Diamond. Khushdil Shah and Aamir Jamal moved from Diamond to Gold, and Arafat Minhas shifted from Gold to Silver. Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood remained in the Diamond category.
Lahore Qalandars’ Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf continued in the Platinum category. Salman Mirza promoted from Gold to Diamond while Mohammad Naeem moved from the Emerging category to Silver.
For Peshawar Zalmi, Babar Azam and Saim Ayub remained in Platinum while Mohammad Haris and Mohammad Ali moved from Diamond to Gold.
Multan Sultans’ captain Mohammad Rizwan remains in Platinum while Usama Mir and Iftikhar Ahmed were moved from Platinum to Diamond. Mohammad Hasnain shifted from Diamond to Gold and Aakif Javed was promoted from Silver to Gold.
For Quetta Gladiators, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Amir continued in Platinum while Abrar Ahmed has been promoted from Diamond to Platinum.
Wasim Jr has moved from Gold to Diamond and Usman Tariq from Silver to Diamond.
Khawaja Nafay was promoted from Silver to Gold while Hasan Nawaz moved from the Emerging category to Gold.
It may be mentioned here that the PSL 11 would be the first edition in which the players are selected through an auction process rather than the traditional draft system.
