*The HBL Pakistan Super League 2021 is set to showcase Pakistan’s besttalent once again as categories of the players who took part in the HBL PSL2020 have now been finalised.*
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who was the Player of the Tournament in the2020 edition after scoring 473 runs in 12 matches, is joined by KarachiKings teammates Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir in the Platinum category.
Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan continues in the Platinum category ashis teammate Faheem Ashraf moves down to the Diamond category for the HBLPSL 2021.
Peshawar Zalmi trio of Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz have beenplaced in the Platinum category while fast bowler Hasan Ali moves to theDiamond category.
Multan Sultans captain Shan Masood has moved up to the Diamond categorywith his impressive performances across HBL PSL 2020 and the National T20Cup. Shan’s teammates Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir have been placed inthe Platinum category.
Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is in the Platinum category whilefast bowler Mohammad Hasnain moves up from Gold to Diamond after ending asQuetta’s leading wicket-taker in the HBL PSL 2020 with 15 wickets.
Fakhar Zaman, who ended up as the second highest scorer in the HBL PSL 2020with 325 runs in 12 matches for Lahore Qalandars, continues in the Platinumcategory where he is joined by teammates Mohammad Hafeez and Shaheen ShahAfridi, the highest wicket-taker of HBL PSL 2020.
Qalandars pacer Haris Rauf’s meteoric rise continues as the fast bowlermoves up from Gold to Diamond. He is the leading wicket-taker in 2020 with57 scalps at 19.57.
With the category renewal process and pick order finalised, the transferand retention window is now officially open.
As part of the category renewal process, franchise representatives wererequired to vote for every player. Teams were not allowed to vote for theirown players but submit review requests at the end of this voting stage.
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The list was then reviewed by Director – High Performance Nadeem Khan andGM Commercial Imran Ahmed Khan, who has been leading player acquisition forHBL PSL since 2017. Factors including national team performances, domesticperformances and perceived T20 brand value were considered while finalisinglocal players’ categories.
Director Commercial Babar Hamid: “The category renewals for the localplayers is a key step towards the delivery of the HBL Pakistan Super League2021. The renewals were done on the basis of structured and meritoriouscriteria with an aim of providing fair and equal opportunity to all localplayers in what is one of the most followed and competitive cricket leaguesin the world.
“I am sure that like the previous five seasons we will see top-qualityperformances from our local players and a lot of young players will get awonderful opportunity of showcasing their talents and progressing to theinternational stage by their exposure to a platform like the HBL PSL.”
The category renewals did not apply to those players who were drafted inHBL PSL 2020 Playoffs in November. These players will be part of theoverall player pool that will be available for selection at the HBL PSLPlayer Draft.
Players who have represented Pakistan in any format have been assigned abase category of Gold.
U23 players cannot be part of a squad as an Emerging player for more thantwo years unless they have played three or less matches in those two years.
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