Babar, Malik, Haider Shuffled | PSL 8 Complete Retention List:
The most awaited cricket league of Pakistan, the Pakistan Super League, has started its preparation for the next edition. Regarded largely as one of the most famous cricket leagues, PSL will begin its 8th edition next year which will be played from 9th February to 19th March.
The window for registration of foreign players was opened a few weeks ago and many big names from around the world have registered themselves. Meanwhile, the renewed categories of local players were also released where 8 players were promoted to a higher category and five were demoted.The next big step before the drafts are staged is the submission of lists of players who have been retained by each franchise. As per the rules, a team can only retain a maximum of 8 players from their previous edition’s squad or by trading with other franchises. Let us have a look at which players the teams have retained from previous squads:
PESHAWAR ZALMI:
Winner of the second season of Pakistan Super League, Peshawar Zalmi was knocked out of the previous edition from the 1st play-off. The yellow storm has a win percentage of 54.37. Interestingly, the men in yellow have never been knocked out before reaching play-offs so far in the history of PSL, more interestingly they remain the only team to hold this record.
Before announcing the names of their retained players, Peshawar Zalmi traded Shoaib Malik and Haider Ali for Babar Azam and the first pick in the first supplementary round from Karachi.
Zalmi is the only team to announce seven retentions, which are as follows:
Babar Azam (Platinum), Sherfane Rutherford(Diamond), Wahab Riaz (Diamond), Mohammad Haris (Gold), Aamir Jamal (Brand Ambassador), Salman Irshad (Silver) and Tom-Kohler Cadmore (Silver).
KARACHI KINGS:
Karachi Kings had a woeful season in 2022 where they were only able to win a solitary match out if the 10, thus, staying at the bottom the table for the good part of tournament. Luckily, the Kings also have a trophy in their cabinet and adding another one will be their aim this season to make up for everything they lost in 7th edition.
Karachi Kings have retained Haider Ali in platinum category. Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Shoaib Malik in Diamond category. Aamir Yamin, Mir Hamza and Sharjeel Khan in Silver category and finally Qasim Akram in Emerging category.
ISLAMABAD UNITED:
Most certainly, the most successful team of the Pakistan Super League after Multan Sultans, with two trophies to their name and win percentage of around 54%. In the recent edition as well, the IslU, as the fans call them, were quite decent but were hampered by the winners Lahore Qalandars in the play-offs.
Led by Pakistan team’s vice Captain, Shadab Khan, the Islamabad team have announced to retain Asif Ali, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Faheen Ashraf, Colin Munro, Azam Khan and Paul Sterling.
Asif Ali has been appointed as the United’s Brand Ambassador following his demotion to Diamond category.
MULTAN SULTANS:
Playing their first season in PSL 3, Multan Sultans are the youngest among all PSL teams. However, to say that they are behind the other teams in performance as well can never be more far from being correct. Instead, the Mohammad Rizwan-led team has the highest win percentage in PSL (57%) with a PSL trophy in their cabinet as well.
Multan have retained the Skipper Mohammad Rizwan in Platinum category, Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw and Khushdil Shah in Diamond Category, Tim David in Gold while Abbas Afridi and Ihsanullah have been retained in emerging category.The Sultans have chosen Shahnawaz Dahani as their brand ambassador after demoting him to the gold category.
QUETTA GLADIATORS:
Quetta Gladiators had the honor of lifting the coveted PSL trophy in the league’s fourth edition. After which, however, they have failed to reach knockout stages so far. Although they have maintained a decent win percentage of 50.7, they will need to upgrade their performance to survive in the ever-increasing competition between teams in PSL.
The purple force has decided to retain Mohammad Nawaz in Platinum category, Iftikhar Ahmed and Jason Roy in Diamond category, Mohammad Hasnain and Sarfraz Ahmed in Gold and Will Smeed and Naveen ul Haq in Silver category.
Umar Akmal has been retained by the Gladiators as well after demoting him to Silver category and assigning extra duties of a mentor.
LAHORE QALANDARS:
The defending champions Lahore Qalandar have reached the knockout stages only twice so far in all editions of the league. The Qalandars were phenomenal during the last season, thrashing teams like Islamabad United and Multan Sultans in playoffs for fun.To defend the title, the Lahore team has decided to retain Rashid Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf in Platinum category, David Wiese in Diamond category, Abdullah Shafique will be their Gold retention while Harry Brook and Kamran Ghulam have been retained in Silver category. The fast bowler Zaman Khan has been retained under the emerging category.
