Pakistan Super League 2018: New entrants Multan Sultans sign Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard and Kumar Sangakkara
Multan Sultans, who are the latest entrants in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), have picked Kieron Pollard, Shoaib Malik and Kumar Sangakkara from the pre-draft list of players on Tuesday. They had earlier unveiled former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody as their head coach.
Their current roster also comprises the Pakistani left-arm pace trio of Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, and Junaid Khan. Sohaib Maqsood, Irfan Khan and Kashif Bhatti round off the initial set of players for Multan.
The franchise's President Asher Schon stated, "The inclusion of Shoaib Malik to our unit gives us a great edge, as he brings along with him rich T20 cricket experience, and since he has been featuring in almost every top T20 league around the globe, he will have a crucial role to play."
Hailing the addition of Sangakkara, Multan's Team Director Wasim Akram enthused, "Kumar is a master class, and over the time he has outshined as one of the most consistent T20 players, be it his blistering strokes or splendid glove work behind the stumps, he has contributed amazingly to the T20 format across the globe."
The other five teams of the PSL had been instructed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to retain ten players each and release the remaining cricketers into the draft. According to the tournament's regulations, a franchise can retain two players each from Platinum, Diamond and Gold categories and three names from Silver category apart from one emerging cricketer.
All franchises will avail the opportunity to complete their respective squads when the 2018 PSL draft takes place later this month.
Current squads for PSL 2018
Multan Sultans
Picked Players
Platinum: Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard (West Indies)
Diamond: Kumar Sangakkara (Mentor) (Sri Lanka), Sohail Tanvir
Gold: Mohammad Irfan (Ambassador), Junaid Khan
Silver: Sohaib Maqsood, Irfan Khan and Kashif Bhatti
Islamabad United
Retained Players
Platinum: Misbah-ul-Haq, Andre Russell (West Indies)
Diamond: Samuel Badree (West Indies), Mohammad Sami
Gold: Rumman Raees (Ambassador), Shadab Khan
Silver: Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali and Amad Butt
Released Players
Sam Billings (England), Ben Duckett (England), Brad Haddin (Australia), Steven Finn (England), Mohammad Irfan, Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Nicholas Pooran (West Indies), Saeed Ajmal, Shane Watson (Australia), Zohaib Khan, Dwayne Smith (West Indies) and Rafatullah
Transfers: Iftikhar Ahmed from Peshawar Zalmi for supplementary pick from second round of draft
Lahore Qalandars
Retained Players
Platinum: Sunil Narine (West Indies), Umar Akmal
Diamond: Brendon McCullum (Mentor) (New Zealand), Fakhar Zaman
Gold: Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan
Silver: Cameron Delport (South Africa), Aamir Yamin and Bilawal Bhatti
Released Players
Azhar Ali, Jason Roy (England), Chris Green (Australia), Sohail Tanvir, Zafar Gohar, Ghulam Mudassar, James Franklin (New Zealand), Grant Elliott (New Zealand), Usman Qadir, Dwayne Bravo (West Indies)
Transfers: Sohail Khan from Karachi Kings for Mohammad Rizwan
Karachi Kings
Retained Players
Platinum: Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Amir
Diamond: Imad Wasim, Babar Azam
Gold: Mohammad Rizwan, Ravi Bopara (England)
Silver: Usman Shinwari, Usama Mir and Khurram Manzoor
Released Players
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Chris Gayle (West Indies), Rahat Ali, Ryan McLaren (South Africa), Kashif Bhatti, Shahzaib Hasan, Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) and Shoaib Malik
Transfers: Mohammad Rizwan from Lahore Qalandars for Sohail Khan; Shahid Afridi for 1 player from gold and 2 players from silver categories in player draft
Quetta Gladiators
Retained Players
Platinum: Sarfraz Ahmed, Kevin Pietersen (England)
Diamond: Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Mahmudullah Riyad (Bangladesh)
Gold: Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz
Silver: Umar Amin, Anwar Ali and Mir Hamza
Released Players
Rovman Powell (West Indies), Ahmed Shahzad, Nathan McCullum (New Zealand), Tymal Mills (England), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Saad Nasim, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Luke Wright (England), Moeen Ali (England), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Brad Hodge (Australia), Bismillah Khan, Sean Ervine (Zimbabwe), Rayad Emrit (West Indies), Anamul Haque (Bangladesh), Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe), David Willey (England), Noor Wali, Morne van Wyk (South Africa) and Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)
Peshawar Zalmi
Retained Players
Mohammad Hafeez (Platinum), Wahab Riaz (Platinum), Shakib al Hasan (Diamond), Kamran Akmal (Diamond), Darren Sammy (Gold & player/coach), Hasan Ali (Gold), Haris Sohail (Silver), Chris Jordan (Silver), Mohammad Asghar (Silver)
Platinum: Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz
Diamond: Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Kamran Akmal
Gold: Darren Sammy (Also Coach) (West Indies), Hasan Ali
Silver: Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan (England) and Mohammad Asghar
Released Players
Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Andre Fletcher (West Indies), Imran Khan, Junaid Khan, Eoin Morgan (England), Samit Patel (England), Marlon Samuels (West Indies), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Sohaib Maqsood, Shahzad Muhammad, Umair Masood, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)
Transfers: Received Islamabad United's supplementary pick in second round of draft for Iftikhar Ahmed; Received Karachi Kings's quota of 1 player from gold and 2 players from silver categories for Shahid Afridi