HBL PSL 8th Edition

 

The eighth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) is scheduled to take place from February 9th 2023 to March 19th 2023. The tournament will take place in Karachi, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. The draft for the PSL 8 took place on the 15th of December 2022.

Previously, it was implied by former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mr. Ramiz Raja that the draft would be replaced by an auction as is done for the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the draft format was retained. The reigning and defending champions Lahore Qalandars were awarded the first pick of the draft. All the teams in the tournament were given the right to one wildcard pick and were also given the right-to-match card which enabled the teams to repurchase a single player that they had released on the day of the draft and this was done by paying a fee as per the category of the pick. The categories and respective fees (in US dollars) are:

• Platinum (130,000-170,000)
• Diamond (60,000-80,000)
• Gold (40,000-50,000)
• Silver (25,000)
• Emerging (7,500)

The major shake-up that came from the draft was the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team, Babar Azam, being traded to Peshawar Zalmi, along with a supplementary pick, from Karachi Kings. The Kings got the veteran Shoaib Malik and exciting young talent Haider Ali in return. The list for the retained players for each team was unveiled on the 11th of November 2022 and each team in the franchise were allowed a maximum of eight players to be retained from the previous campaign. All of the teams, with the exception of Peshawar Zalmi, utilized the allocated retention quota. For the draft, an upwards of 490 foreign players were registered, the highest this number has ever been. Players to be drafted in the emerging category must be less than 23 years of age as of the first day of 2023 and could have participated in less than 10 matches from any of the previous campaigns and would not be a part of their national squads. The complete squads for PSL 8 are as follows:

Lahore Qalandars:

The reigning and defending champions scouted some new talents as per their Player Development Programme.

• Platinum Category: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan). 
• Diamond Category: Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), Hussain Talat, and David Wiese (Namibia).
• Gold Category: Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), and Liam Dawson (England). 
• Sliver Category: Kamran Ghulam, Dilbar Hussain, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ahmed Daniyal, and Harry Brook (England).
• Emerging  Category: Zaman Khan, and Shawaiz Irfan.
• Supplementary Category: Jalat Khan, and Jordan Cox (England).

Islamabad United:

The record two-time champions managed to cultivate a strong squad and are real contenders for the Qalandar's crown.

• Platinum Category: Shadab Khan, Alex Hales (England), and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan).
• Diamond Category: Asif Ali (Brand Ambassador), Muhammad Wasim, and Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan).
• Gold Category: Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, and Hassan Ali.
• Silver Category: Colin Munro (Mentor), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Abrar Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood,  and Rumman Raees. 
• Emerging Category: Zeeshan Zameer, and Hassan Nawaz.
• Supplementary Category: Mubasir Khan, and Moeen Ali (England).

Karachi Kings:

The kings picked a squad that is comprised of players that have a real affinity for T20i's.

• Platinum Category: Haider Ali, Matthew Wade (Australia), and Imran Tahir (South Africa).
• Diamond Category: Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, James Vince (England), and James Fuller (New Zealand).
• Gold Category: Andrew Tye (Australia).
• Silver Category: Aamer Yamin, Mir Hamza, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir, and Muhammad Akhlaq. 
• Emerging Category: Qasim Akram, and Irfan Khan.
• Supplementary Category: Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa), and Mohammad Umar.

Multan Sultans:

Although the sultans let go of Imran Tahir and Sohaib Maqsood, they still have a squad that can continue on from where they left off in the previous seasons.

• Platinum Category: Muhammad Rizwan, David Miller (South Africa), and Josh Little (Ireland).
• Diamond Category: Khushdil Shah, Shan Masood, and Rilee Rossouw (South Africa).
• Gold Category: Shahnawaz Dahani (Brand Ambassador), Tim David (Australia), and Akeal Hossain (West Indies).
• Silver Category: Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Sameen Gul, Anwar Ali, and Muhammad Sarwar.
• Emerging Category: Abbas Afridi, and Ihsanullah.
• Supplementary Category: Arafat Minhas, and Adil Rashid (England).

Peshawar Zalmi:

Zalmi took a new approach and put their faith in the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team, and in aggressive players who are proven match-winners.

• Platinum Category: Babar Azam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), and Rovman Powell (West Indies).
• Diamond Category: Wahab Riaz, Sherfan Rutherford (West Indies), and Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afghanistan).
• Gold Category: Muhammad Haris, Danish Aziz, and Arshad Iqbal.
• Silver Category: Aamer Jamal (Brand Ambassador), Salman Irshad, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Saim Ayub, and Usman Qadir.
• Emerging Category: Sufiyan Muqeem, and Haseebullah Khan.
• Supplementary Category: Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand).

Quetta Gladiators:

The gladiators have a very strong team with the addition of some new talented and excited youngsters.

• Platinum Category: Muhammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, and Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka).
• Diamond Category: Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy (England), and Odean Smith (West Indies).
• Gold Category: Mohammad Hasnain (Brand Ambassador), Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Ahsan Ali.
• Silver Category: Umar Akmal (Mentor), Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Will Smeed (England), Umaid Asif, and Muhammad Zahid.
• Emerging Category: Abdul Bangalzai, and Aimal Khan.
• Supplementary Category: Martin Guptill (New Zealand), and Omair Yousuf.