West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph’s match-winning spell against Aus-tralia at the Gabba on Sunday has helped him land a deal at the PSL, with Peshawar Zalmi signing him up. He is expected to join the franchise at the start, and remain with them for the entirety of the tourna-ment.
While Joseph was announced by Zalmi as a partial replacement for England fast bowler Gus Atkinson, ESPNcricinfo understands he will remain with Zalmi for the entirety of the tournament – even after Atkinson joins. Atkinson is currently with the Eng-land Test squad in India for the five-match series that runs till March 11, ensuring his unavailability for all but the playoff games.
The announcement to sign Joseph didn’t come at the replacement and supplementary draft, which took place earlier today. At the time, Zalmi announced they had replaced Afghan legspinner Noor Ahmed, also unavailable, with Atkinson for the whole tournament. But Atkinson’s current engagement with the national side in India would have rendered that impossible, and Zalmi later announced on social media that Joseph would replace him.
Haider Ali (Islamabad United), Johnson Charles (Multan Sultans) and BhanukaRajapaksa (Lahore Qalandars) were among the other players brought in by PSL sides in the supplementary and replacement draft for the ninth season. The draft,organised to replace several players unavailable due to scheduling clashes or injuries, took place over a conference call, according to a statement released by the PCB.
Rashid Khan, who withdrew from this year’s PSL as he manages his return from a back injury, was not replaced, with Qalandars opting to reserve their pick. This allows the franchise to potentially hold on to Rashid’s services, with Qalandars retaining him in the silver category on the understanding that he could be retained for 2025. But Dan Lawrence, partially unavailable to the franchise, has also not been replaced, with Qalandars reserving their pick. Is-lamabad, similarly, did not replace Tom Curran, who was ruled out of the league with a knee injury.
Karachi Kings have replaced Kieron Pollard, who is partially unavailable, with left-arm spinner Zahid-Mahmood, while opener Bismillah Khan fills in for Sri Lanka allrounderWaninduHasaranga for Quetta Gladiators. Meanwhile, Sultans also brought in seam-bowling allrounder Mohammad Shahzad as a supplementary pick, while Islamabad signed West Indies left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy.
The PSL starts on February 17 at the Gaddafi Sta-dium, and runs till March 18, with the final at the National Stadium in Karachi. Qalandars are the defending champions, having won the title each of the previous two editions.—INP
