Babar Azam has moved away from Karachi Kings and will turn out for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League — here’s the full list of retentions and players traded ahead of PSL 2023.
Peshawar Zalmi snapped Pakistan all-format skipper Babar in a trade deal with Karachi Kings, exchanging him with Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik. The right-hander was associated with Karachi for six years and was with Islamabad United prior to that. Each of the six teams were allowed to retain eight players ahead of the next season of the PSL, but Peshawar was the only side to retain seven.
The retentions will be followed by a draft, where sides can select 18 players for 2023. Players have been divided into the following categories – Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Emerging and Supplementary, and franchises will have to pick cricketers from each category. A team can select three players from the first three categories, and two from the remaining categories.
Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan, Jason Roy and Rilee Rossouw were some of the other players retained by the teams.
The eighth season of the PSL will begin on February 9 till March 19 in four venues, Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan.
PSL 2023: Full list of retentions
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)
