In the aftermath of a disappointing World Cup campaign for Pakistan, all eyes are on the upcoming edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL). This season is scheduled tentatively from 8 February to 24 March 2024. PSL renews player categories for this season.
Karachi Kings
Following a challenging season where Karachi Kings finished at the bottom, Imad Wasim’s exceptional all-round performances earned him a spot in the platinum category. However, Haider Ali’s has a descent from platinum to gold category due to his below par performance in the previous edition of the PSL. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Amir have been placed in the same diamond category. Tayyab Tahir has been moved from silver to gold due to his decent performance in the previous season. Qasim Akram has moved from emerging to gold.
Platinum: Imad Wasim
Diamond: Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir
Gold: Haider Ali, Aamir Yamin, Sharjeel Khan, Mir Hamza, Tayyab Tahir, Musa Khan, Qasim Akram
Silver: Mohammad Ikhlaq, Mohammad Umar, Akif Javed
Emerging: Irfan Khan Niazi, Faisal Akram
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Quetta Gladiators: Naseem and Iftikhar Shine in Platinum
Quetta Gladiators had a worse previous season of the PSL. Naseem Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed have been upgraded from diamond to platinum category due to their exceptional performance in the previous edition of the tournament as well as in the international arena. Sarfraz Ahmed has been promoted from gold to diamond despite his poor performance in the previous edition as PSL renews player categories.
Platinum: Naseem Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed
Diamond: Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed
Gold: Mohammad Hasnain, Ahsan Ali, Umar Akmal, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saud Shakeel
Silver: Bismillah Khan, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Zahid, Arshadullah
Emerging: Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Aimal Khan, Yasir Khan, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar’s Platinum Leadership
Peshawar Zalmi have slight changes in their players categories. Peshawar explosive wicket keeper batsman Mohammad Haris has been moved from gold to the diamond category. Pace bowler Salman Irshad has moved from gold to silver. The young talented batsman Saim Ayub also belongs to the diamond category as well as experienced pacer Wahab Riaz.
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Platinum: Babar Azam
Diamond: Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Haris, Saim Ayub
Gold: Danish Aziz, Arshad Iqbal, Aamer Jamal, Salman Irshad, Usman Qadir, Harris Sohail, Sufyan Muqeem
Silver: Khurram Shahzad
Emerging: Haseebullah, Saad Masood
Islamabad United
Islamabad United wicket keeper batsman Azam Khan along with pacer Faheem Asharaf have been promoted from gold to diamond category. Zeeshan Zameer has been upgraded from emerging to silver category while Mubasir Khan has moved from emerging to gold as PSL renews player categories
Platinum: Shadab Khan
Diamond: Asif Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf
Gold: Sohaib Maqsood, Abrar Ahmed, Rumman Raees, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan
Silver: Zeeshan Zamir
Emerging: Hassan Nawaz
Multan Sultans
Multan Sultan young fast bowler’s Abbas Afridi and Ihsanullah have been promoted from emerging to gold category due to their incredible performance as emerging players in the last edition of the PSL.
Platinum: Mohammad Rizwan
Diamond: Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir
Gold: Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah, Arafat Minhas, Shahnawaz Dahani, Anwar Ali
Silver: Sameen Gul, Sarwar Afridi, Ammad Butt, Mohammad Ilyas
Lahore Qalandars: The Defending Champions
Lahore Qalandar’s young batsman Kamran Ghulam category has been enhanced from silver to gold. The young fiery pacer Zaman Khan has earned his spot in the gold category after playing in the emerging category in the last season.
Platinum: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman
Gold: Hussain Talat, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Tahir Baig, Zaman Khan
Silver: Dilbar Hussain, Ahmed Daniyal, Ahsan Bhatti, Jalat Khan
Emerging: Shawaiz Irfan
In the process of renewing player categories, team representatives actively participated by casting votes for each player, with a unique twist—they couldn’t vote for their own team members but had the option to submit review requests at the end of the voting stage.
This democratic approach was followed by a thorough review conducted by key figures in cricket, including Director – International Cricket Usman Wahla, Tauseef Ahmad from the national selection committee, and Shoaib Khalid, the face behind player acquisition for HBL PSL since 2021. Their decisions were influenced by a mix of factors, such as national and domestic performances, as well as the perceived T20 brand value of the local players involved.
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