Former Australia skipper Steve Smith was nominated as a Platinum Category player in the draft for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday.
The banned Aussie star is among 14 big names named in the Platinum Category who will be a part of the player pool when the player draft for the league gets underway. The Platinum Category denotes the most pedigreed overseas players in the league and is the highest among all categories.
South Africa stalwart AB de Villiers is another name which has been nominated in the same section. Platinum Category players from last season can be retained, traded or released into the draft pool by the respective franchises.
500 players have thrown their hat into the ring for the fourth edition and the draft will get underway once the player retention and trade window closes in the second week of October.
If picked, this will be the third overseas T20 league Smith has participated since he was handed a one-year ban by Cricket Australia for his role in the infamous ball-tampering episode which occurred in South Africa earlier this year.
REVEALED! The PSL 2019 Foreign Platinum Players list. An exciting roster with some of the biggest stars of the T20 format. #PSLPlatinum pic.twitter.com/j9S5iURS6V
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) October 4, 2018
Both Smith and his former deputy David Warner took part the inaugural Global T20 Canada in the summer before heading off to the West Indies to participate in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The duo were both expected to participate in the PSL too but according to a report on ESPNCricinfo, Warner has now turned down the invitation.
Afghanistan’s wrist-spin prodigy Rashid Khan is another star who has been reserved in the Platinum Category with the 20-year-old currently on the roster of Quetta Gladiators.
Each of the six franchises will be required to register a total of 16 players in the draft with four spots reserved for young and emerging talents from Pakistan.
The fourth edition of the PSL will get underway on February 14 with the final being held at the National Stadium in Karachi on March 17. The edition will see a total of eight matches, including the final, taking place on Pakistan soil while the UAE plays host to the other fixtures.
