The nation of Pakistan has always idolized the game of cricket and also deified the participants of this game. Since its inception, the people of Pakistan have shared the equal love for the game as their Indian counterparts. To cater to the demand of its fans the Pakistan Cricket Board (or the PCB) had initiated the Pakistan Super League just like the Indian Premier League which was started in India.
The inaugural year of the league was in 2016. After the success and the popularity of the league, it was again held in March of 2017. The third season is yet to be commemorated in the year 2018. Recently the list of players of the teams who are going to participate has been finalized and published. The list of players and the teams are as follows:-
Karachi Kings
The list of players shortlisted for the team was a rather shocking one because despite their brilliant performance in national front some players had been laid off from the team. Among these players, the big names included Shoaib Malik, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Kumar Sangakkara.
The players that were retained were Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Ravi Bopara, Usman Shinwari, Usama Mir and Khurram Manzoor.
Peshawar Zalmi
The list for Zalmi was also unpredictable because the names which were highly prospective to feature in the list such as Tamim Iqbal, Marlon Samuels, Junaid Khan and Eoin Morgan were absent from the list.
Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Shakib Al Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Darren Sammy, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan Mohammad Asghar were the ones to make it to the team.
Lahore Qalandars
In this team, the lack of impressive performance resulted in the removal of Jason Roy, Azhar Ali, Grant Elliot and Sohail Tanvir. The surprising retention of Umar Akhmal has endangered the inclusion of Mitchel Johnson in the team.
The players who were repeated in the team are Sunil Narine, Umar Akmal, Brendon McCullum, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan, Cameron Delport, Aamir Yamin and Bilawal Bhatti.
Quetta Gladiators
The players retained in the team are Sarfraz Ahmed, Kevin Pieterson, Rilee Rossouw, Mahmudullah Riyad, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mir Hamza and Umer Amin.
Players like Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Gul, and Luke Wright were sacked from the team. There was also no trace of Tymil Mills in the list.
Islamabad United
Among the released players Shane Watson was the most controversial name because he played a very important role in the victory of the team in the 2016 league. The other players released are Brad Haden, Sam Billings, and Mohammad Irfan.
The players retained are Andre Russel, Misbah Ul Haq, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Amad Butt and Asif Ali
Now, with bated breath, we wait for the commencement of the league and to rule the hearts of the spectators.
