The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will conduct a replacement draft for the six teams to complete their squads ahead of the resumption of the 2021 edition of the tournament, which had been suspended after 14 matches following a spate of Covid-19 cases among players and support staffers.
The remainder of the tournament will be played in June, with all matches in Karachi, in a bio-security bubble being put in place by a UK-based company. The teams will assemble by May 23 to begin their mandatory seven-day quarantine, and action will resume on June 2, with the final on June 20.
Most of the overseas players, who were around for the first set of games before the postponement, are going to be missing for one reason or another. The English players are going to be busy with the Vitality Blast T20 tournament. Some others will be on national duty. As a result, their will be a mini draft, where the teams will get to pick from 134 players, from Australia (10), New Zealand (12), South Africa (18), Bangladesh (7), West Indies (25), Sri Lanka (24), Zimbabwe (6), Afghanistan (16), Ireland (5), UAE (5), Scotland (4), Nepal (1) and Oman (1).
The roster of local players, fortunately for the teams, are intact. And there are quite a few big names for the players to pick from, including Martin Guptill, Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan in the platinum category, and Usman Khawaja, Adam Milne, Morne Morkel, Tamim Iqbal, James Faulkner and Joe Burns in the diamond category.
Lahore Qalandars
Players unavailable: Rashid Khan (Platinum), Samit Patel (Gold), David Wiese (Diamond), Tom Abell (Silver), Joe Denly
Areas impacted: Middle order and spin department
Ideal XI before postponement: Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (capt), Joe Denly, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk, Samit Patel, David Wiese, Zeeshan Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Ahmed Daniyal, Haris Rauf
Karachi Kings
Players unavailable: Colin Ingram (Platinum), Mohammad Nabi (Diamond), Dan Christian (Diamond), Joe Clarke (Silver)
Areas impacted: Nos. 3 to 6
Ideal XI before postponement: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Joe Clarke, Colin Ingram, Dan Christian, Imad Wasim (capt), Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood, Arshad Iqbal
Islamabad United
Players unavailable: Alex Hales (Platinum), Lewis Gregory (Diamond), Phil Salt (Gold)
Areas impacted: Opening and lower-middle order
Ideal XI before postponement: Phil Salt, Alex Hales, Shadab Khan (capt), Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Lewis Gregory, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Zafar Gohar
Quetta Gladiators
Players unavailable: Tom Banton (Platinum)
Areas impacted: Nothing
Ideal XI before postponement: Usman Khan, Saim Ayub, Faf du Plessis, Azam Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt), Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Qais Ahmad, Zahid Mahmood, Dale Steyn, Mohammad Hasnain
Peshawar Zalmi
Players unavailable: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Diamond), Liam Livingstone (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Silver), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver)
Areas impacted: Leading wicket-taker Mahmood out
Ideal XI before postponement: Kamran Akmal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shoaib Malik (capt), Haider Ali, Ravi Bopara/David Miller, Sherfane Rutherford, Amad Butt, Umaid Asif, Saqib Mahmood, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan
Multan Sultans
Players unavailable: Chris Lynn (Platinum), James Vince (Gold), Adam Lyth (Silver), Carlos Brathwaite (Supplement),
Areas impacted: Opening, and the absence of Brathwaite
Ideal XI before postponement: Chris Lynn, Mohammad Rizwan (capt), James Vince, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Carlos Brathwaite, Sohail Khan, Usman Qadir, Shahnawaz Dhani