Excitement Builds as Quetta Gladiators Lead PSL Draft Selection
LAHORE: Quetta Gladiators, former champions of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), will have the privilege of making the first pick in the upcoming ninth edition’s player draft, as announced by the country’s cricket board on Monday.
Karachi Kings and two-time champions Islamabad United are set for the second and third picks. Following them, Peshawar Zalmi and last season’s runners-up Multan Sultans will make the fourth and fifth selections, respectively. Lahore Qalandars, the winners of the last two editions, will conclude the first round with the sixth pick.
“The selection order for the first round for the Platinum category is determined by the inverse order of the previous season’s standings,” stated the Pakistan Cricket Board in a press release. “In order to make the Pick Order more equitable, a different franchise shall occupy the first pick in the first round of each category.”
Quetta Gladiators will kick off the Platinum picks, Karachi Kings will lead with the first Diamond pick, Peshawar Zalmi will take the opening Gold pick, Multan Sultans will make the first pick in the Silver category, Islamabad United will have the first Emerging category pick, and Lahore Qalandars will get the first Supplementary pick.
The PCB mentioned that franchisees will submit relegation requests for players before finalizing retentions. “Following the floating of relegation requests, all teams have the chance to match the player’s base category,” added the statement. “If the player’s base category is not matched, they may be relegated to a category below their base category.”
The PSL player draft is tentatively scheduled for mid-December, and the event itself is set to take place in February-March.
