PSL 2021 Draft Live: Pakistan Super League 2021 released and retained players

PSL 2021 is scheduled to start on February 20 in Karachi with the opening game between Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators. This year’s edition, with 34 matches, would be played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Stadium in a bid to manage affairs effectively around the Covid-19 pandemic. The final is slotted for Lahore on March 22.
Highlights of Retained and Released Players
– Peshawar Zalmi have released Hasan Ali their main fast bowler. Peshawar have decided to retain Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik in the platinum category
– Karachi Kings, the defending champions, have retained their core pool of local players including Mohammad Amir and Babar Azam,
– Karachi Kings traded Alex Hales with Islamabad United for Colin Ingram.
– Lahore Qalandars retained Fakhar Zaman
– Multan Sultans have retained Shahid Afridi and Rilee Rossouw in the platinum category while legspinner Imran Tahir was picked up in the diamond category with a mentor role.
– Quetta Gladiators continued their alliance with Sarfaraz Ahmed, retaining him in the platinum category while keeping two slots open in the highest category.
PSL 2021: Summary of retentions and releases
Islamabad United – Alex Hales (Platinum; traded from Karachi Kings); Asif Ali (gold); Colin Munro (diamond); Faheem Ashraf (diamond); Hussain Talat (gold, brand ambassador); Musa Khan (silver, successful relegation request); Shadab Khan (platinum); Zafar Gohar (silver, successful relegation request)
Released – Ahmer Safi Abdullah, Akif Javed, Amad Butt, Dale Steyn, Luke Ronchi (unavailable due to coaching duties in New Zealand), Phil Salt, Rassie van der Dussen, Rizwan Hussain, Rumman Raees and Saif Badar.
Karachi Kings – Amir Yamin (gold); Arshad Iqbal (emerging); Babar Azam (platinum); Colin Ingram (platinum, traded from Islamabad United); Imad Wasim (diamond, successful relation request); Mohammad Amir (platinum); Sharjeel Khan gold) and Waqas Maqsood (silver, brand ambassador)
Released – Ali Khan, Awais Zia, Cameron Delport, Chadwick Walton, Chris Jordan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mitchell McCleneghan, Mohammad Rizwan, Umaid Asif, Umer Khan and Usama Mir.
Lahore Qalandars – Ben Dunk (gold); David Wiese (diamond); Dilbar Hussain (gold); Fakhar Zaman (diamond, brand ambassador); Haris Rauf (diamond); Mohammad Hafeez; Shaheen Shah Afridi (both platinum) and Sohail Akhtar (silver, successful relegation request)
Released – Abid Ali, Agha Salman, Chris Lynn, Dane Vilas, Dilbar Hussain, Farzan Raja, Jaahid Ali, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Salman Butt, Salman Irshad, Samit Patel, Seekkuge Prasanna and Usman Shinwari.
Multan Sultans – Shahid Afridi (platinum), Imran Tahir (diamond, mentor); James Vince (gold); Khushdil Shah (diamond); Rilee Rossouw (platinum); Shan Masood (gold, successful relegation request); Sohail Tanvir (Diamond, brand ambassador); Usman Qadir (gold)
Released – Ali Shafiq, Asad Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Fabian Allen, Junaid Khan, Moeen Ali, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Ravi Bopara, Rohail Nazir, Wayne Madsen and Zeeshan Ashraf.
Peshawar Zalmi – Haider Ali (gold); Kamran Akmal (diamond, successful relegation request); Liam Livingstone (gold); Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz (both platinum)
Released – Aamir Ali, Adil Amin, Amir Khan, Carlos Brathwaite, Hammad Azam, Hassan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Lewis Gregory, Liam Dawson (unavailable), Mohammad Mohsin, Rahat Ali, Sikandar Raza, Tom Banton, Umar Amin and Yasir Shah.
Quetta Gladiators – Anwar Ali (silver, successful relegation request); Azam Khan (gold); Ben Cutting (diamond); Mohammad Hasnain (diamond); Mohammad Nawaz (diamond); Naseem Shah (gold); Sarfaraz Ahmed (platinum) and Zahid Mahmood (silver, brand ambassador)
Released – Aarish Ali Khan, Abdul Nasir, Ahmed Shehzad, Ahsan Ali, Fawad Ahmad, Jason Roy (unavailable), Keemo Paul, Khurram Manzoor, Omair bin Yousuf, Shane Watson (retired), Sohail Khan, Tymal Mills (unavailable) and Umar Akmal (suspended).