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:

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#3 The draft will feature some top international players

We'll see even bigger names in this edition

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.

#2 Pakistan will host more matches

Almost 34,000 spectators showed up for the final in 2018

PSL 3 saw the last three games of the tournament being played in Pakistan. It was a welcome move as the cricket hungry nation got to experience their favorite tournament and favorite local and international stars in their own home ground.

On June 12, 2018, the PCB and all the franchises involved in the event held a meeting to decide whether it was a good idea to hold the entire fourth edition of the PSL in Pakistan. After much consideration, the idea was shelved as the board didn’t want to take a giant leap after the success of PSL 3.

On September 15, the newly elected Chairman of the PCB Ehsan Mani announced that the tournament will begin in the UAE on February 14, 2019, and the final match of the event will be played over a month later in Karachi on March 17.

He also revealed that the last matches of the tournament, and not only the final, will be held in Pakistan. Even though the names of the cities which will host PSL matches in Pakistan was not revealed, it is safe to assume that Lahore, Peshawar, and Multan will make the list with Karachi.

#1 It will be the biggest PSL to date

We've already seen the biggest names play the tournament

PSL 3 was a huge event. It was held between six teams for the first time ever and had some of the biggest names in the sport competing for the trophy.

This year, the event is set to be even bigger in terms of the draft and the names that will make up the teams. Even though six teams will be a part of the event once again, a total of at least 682 cricketers which includes 371 foreign and 311 local cricketers being made a part of the draft.

The good old names of Pakistani cricket which will be up for grabs for the first time include Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Abdul Razzaq, and Mohammad Asif.

Additionally, the Platinum Category Overseas Players will include the likes of AB de Villiers, Steve Smith, Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir, Kieron Pollard, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, and Thisara Perera.

Followed by the platinum category, the Diamond Category will include overseas players too which include Alex Hales, Carlos Brathwaite, Daniel Christian, Darren Bravo, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Smith, Ian Bell, Joe Denly, Kemar Roach, Lasith Malinga, Lendl Simmons, Luke Wright, Mohammad Nabi, Rilee Rossouw, Samuel Badree, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tim Bresnan, Tymal Mills, and Wayne Parnell.