New Delhi:
The glitz and glamour of T20 cricket came back with a bang in Pakistan as season three of the high voltage league got underway with a glittering opening ceremony in Dubai on 22 February.
The cricket crazy fans of Pakistan were eagerly waiting for the league to commence as the tournament marks a return to their homeland after three years.
Since the league was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2015, the third season shall feature six teams locking horns for the coveted silverware. The league has witnessed an expansion from five to six teams as a new franchise from Multaan shall be making its maiden appearance.
The league shall witness the top T20 stalwarts from across the globe pitched in a battle to outwit each other with their cricketing skills.
The tournament shall be played over the course of with 34 matches being contested to decide the ultimate winner. While the domestic flavor shall be added by Pakistan's seasoned campaigners, some of the big guns from the Windies, South Africa and England would look to steal the show with all their experience in playing in the previous editions of the league.
So here is a look at the six teams in their Pakistan Super League and their complete squads
Retained players: Mohammad Sami, Andre Russell, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Samuel Badree, Iftikhar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Asif players picked in the draft: JP Duminy, Luke Ronchi, Faheem Ashraf, Sam Billings, Zafar Gohar, Sahibzada Farhan, Hussain Talat
Supplementary players: Alex Hales, Steven Finn (replaced David Willey), Mohammad Hasan, Mohammad Hasnain (injured)
Emerging category players: Rohail Nazir
Player Covers: Samit Patel (as cover for Asela Gunaratne who was a cover for JP Duminy), Chadwick Walton (cover for Sam Billings)
Karachi Kings
Retained players: Imad Wasim (captain), Usman Khan, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Ravi Bopara, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir,Mohammad Rizwan, Shahid AfridiPlayers picked in the draft: Colin Ingram, Joe Denly (replaced Luke Wright), David Wiese, Tabish Khan, Mohammad Irfan Jr, Hasan Mohsin, Tymal Mills (replaced Mitchell Johnson)
Supplementary players: Lendl Simmons (replaced Colin Munro), Eoin Morgan, Saifullah Bangash
Emerging category players: Mohammad Taha, Mushtaq Ahmed Kalhoro
Peshawar Zalmi: Retained players: Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Shakib al Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Darren Sammy, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar
Players picked in the draft: Dwayne Bravo, Tamim Iqbal, Hammad Azam, Saad Nasim, Taimoor Sultan, Sameen Gul, Ibtisam Sheikh
Supplementary players: Andre Fletcher, Rikki Wessels (replaced Evin Lewis), Khalid Usman, Muhammad Arif
Emerging category players: Khushdil Shah
Player Covers: Liam Dawson (cover for Shakib al Hasan), Umaid Asif (cover for Hasan Ali), Sabbir Rahman (partial cover for Shakib al Hasan)
Quetta Gladiators:
Retained players: Sarfraz Ahmed, Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mahmudullah, Umar Amin, Mir Hamza, Asad Shafiq
Players picked in the draft: Shane Watson, Jofra Archer (replaced Carlos Brathwaite), Rahat Ali, Rameez Raja Jr, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel, Hassan Khan
Emerging category players: Mohammad Junaid
Supplementary players: Jason Roy, Rashid Khan, Moin Khan (jr.), Faraz Ahmed
Player Covers: John Hastings (replaced Albie Morkel who was a cover for Jason Roy), Chris Green (cover for Rashid Khan), Ben Laughlin (cover for Jofra Archer)
#Lahore Qalandars
Retained players: Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine, Brendon McCullum, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Cameron Delport, Aamer Yamin, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Khan Players picked in the draft: Chris Lynn (ruled out because of injury), Mustafizur Rehman, Bilal Asif, Raza Hasan, Sohail Akhtar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Ghulam Mudassar
Supplementary players: Anton Devcich (replaced Angelo Mathews), Mitchell McClenaghan, Gulraiz Sadaf
Emerging category players: Imran Khan Jr. Salman Irshad
Player Covers: Dinesh Ramdin (cover for Mustafizur Rahman)
Multan Sultans
Pre-draft players: Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Irfan Khan, Kashif Bhatti
Players picked in the draft: Imran Tahir, Darren Bravo, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Abbas, Nicholas Pooran, Abdullah Shafique, Saif Badar
Supplementary players: Hardus Viljoen, Umar Gul, Umar Siddiq, Ross Whiteley
Emerging category players: Shan Masood
Player Covers: Thisara Perera (cover for Imran Tahir)
