Afridi Pakistan Super League first pick

Sudhir Gupta 21:30 21/12/2015
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  • 'Boom Boom' proved he is still a big draw in Twenty20 cricket.

    Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi was the first player to be picked in the opening round of the draft for the inaugural Pakistan Super League.

    Afridi was snapped up by Peshawar Zalmi team after they traded up with Islamabad United from the third pick to select the 35-year-old all-rounder.

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    In an action packed day, Afridi, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson (Islamabad United), Shoaib Malik (Karachi Kings), Kevin Pietersen (Quetta Gladiators) and Chris Gayle (Lahore Qalandars) became the first selections for their respective teams as the five icon players who carried a maximum wage of $200,000.

    The PSL, which will be held in Dubai and Sharjah from February 4 to February 23 next year, opted for a draft system rather than the auctions favoured by other domestic T20 leagues including the Indian Premier League. 

    Players were split into various categories with each carrying a wage limit – Platinum ($140,000), Diamond ($70,000), Gold ($50,000) and Silver ($25,000) plus one for ‘Emerging’ Pakistan players ($10,000).

    There was more good news for disgraced fast bowler Mohammad Amir as he continued his reintegration into competitive cricket after being selected by Karachi Kings. Amir, who was one of 310 players open for the PSL draft, was picked by Karachi in the Gold category. However, veteran Pakistan players Younis Khan and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal went unpicked.

    The other subcontinental team in the fray was Bangladesh and left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman, who was recently named in the ICC’s ODI Team of the Year, was taken by Lahore in the Gold category, while compatriot Tamim Iqbal was picked in the same category by Peshawar. Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan went to Karachi as a Platinum pick.

    Lahore were the only team to use up their full quota of foreign players, with Gayle, Mustafizur, Dwayne Bravo, Kevon Cooper and Cameron Delport all picked. Apart from Cooper and Delport, 33-year-old Somerset batsman Jim Allenby was the only other uncapped player to be drafted, by Peshawar in the Gold category.

    Pietersen was the only England player granted Platinum status as James Anderson and Ian Bell went unselected on day one of the draft. Pietersen will share the dressing room with fellow England cap Luke Wright, who was Gladiators’ sixth pick as a Diamond player.

    Meanwhile, Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara got snapped up by the Karachi Kings.

    A total of 45 players were drafted among the five franchises. The teams had to pick three players each from the Platinum, Diamond and Gold categories, with a minimum of four Pakistanis and four foreign players. 

    The draft will continue today with each team allowed to choose five players from the Silver category and two from the Emerging category. Franchises have the option to increase their squad strength to 20 by selecting four suppementary players.

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