De Villiers, Smith head PSL Player Draft Platinum Roster

KARACHI: South African legend AB de Villiers and prolific Australian batsman Steve Smith will be among the star attractions at this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) Player Draft.

The list also includes the West Indies trio of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. Bravo was picked up by Peshawar Zalmi last year but could not join the team due to an injury. Pollard, the Multan Sultans all-rounder, said he looked forward to playing in the PSL once again.

“PSL is an extremely competitive tournament,” said Pollard. “Whenever availability permits, I look forward to playing at the PSL,” he added.

Sunil, who has been an integral part of the Lahore Qalandars squad, shared his excitement at seeing so many stars sign up for the 2019 edition. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the PSL in all these seasons,” said Narine. “The next year should be even bigger and better with such an impressive player roster,” he added.

Australia’s Chris Lynn, who was ruled out of last year’s tournament for Lahore Qalandars because of an injury, has also signed with the PSL again.He is joined on the list by fellow Australian Shane Watson, who topped the batting charts for Quetta Gladiators last year with 319 runs in 10 matches.

Black Caps’ wicket-keeper batsman Luke Ronchi goes up from Diamond to Platinum this year. In the last season, he was the highest scorer with 435 runs in 11 matches for Islamabad United. “I had a phenomenal run at the PSL last year and I can’t wait to get back into action,” said Ronchi. “I loved the hospitality of the people when we played in Karachi,” said Ronchi.

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan join him on the list.Afghanistan spin sensation Rashid Khan will be looking to play his first PSL game this year after being called up for national duty last year. He is currently placed on the Quetta Gladiators roster. Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera is also a Platinum category player. He has represented Gladiators in the past.

South Africa’s Colin Ingram returns as a Platinum signing on the back of a very successful T20 campaign in England where he scored 430 runs in 11 matches this season. “Playing with Karachi Kings gave me a great opportunity to interact with some lovely people from Pakistan,” said Ingram. “The quality of cricket at the PSL stood out for me but, more importantly, I am very proud of the fact that I played in Pakistan and experienced what this game means to Pakistani fans,” he added.

“This is a very exciting mix of top quality foreign players,” said Ehsan Mani, PCB chairman. “In the next few days, PSL will continue to announce more foreign player signings in various categories as the excitement grows around what should be an extremely interesting Player Draft.”