3 important things to know before the PSL Draft
The Pakistan Super League is a Twenty20 cricket league which was founded in September in Lahore. Comprising of five teams in the first two tournaments, the number of teams was increased to six in the third edition. The fourth edition of the PSL is set to be played in 2019 and will have six teams. The draft will take place on November 20.
The tournament takes place between the months of February and March and sees each team play in a double round-robin format with the top four teams qualifying for the playoffs. The final is held between the top two teams for the PSL Trophy. While the league originates from Pakistan, the matches have largely been played in the UAE.
The first season was completely played in the UAE, while only the last game of the second and the last three games of the third edition was held in Pakistan with the first part of the events being held entirely in the UAE.
The six teams which will be a part of the event are Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Islamabad United (Champions 2016 & 2018), Peshawar Zami (Champions 2017), Quetta Gladiators, and Lahore Qalandars. The league is a single entity in which each of the six franchises is owned and controlled by investors.
Here are 3 things to know before the draft takes place:
#3 The draft will feature some top international players
Just like the previous three editions, the PSL’s fourth edition too will have some of the biggest names in world cricket become a part of the league. Previously, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara, Dwayne Bravo, and Chris Gayle were among the biggest stars who featured in the first three seasons of the league.
This year we will see even bigger names become a part of the league as fans will flock the stadiums to watch their favorite international stars play side by side with the Pakistani talent.
The biggest names confirmed for the draft include Steve Smith of Australia, AB de Villiers of South Africa, Corey Anderson of New Zealand, and Rashid Khan of Afghanistan.
With six cash-rich franchises waiting to bag the best players in the world for their team, it’ll be interesting to see how much these top stars will make for their appearance in the league and which team will benefit from their services.