Rizwan named PSL Team captain

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the Team of HBL Pakistan Super League 6, which includes three players each from Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, two players each from Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, and one from Karachi Kings.

The Team of HBL PSL 6 was selected by an esteemed panel of former international cricketers and commentators, comprising David Gower, Pommie Mbangwa, Ramiz Raja and Sana Mir. The session was chaired by Nadeem Khan, Director - High Performance and Chairman of the Event Technical Committee.

Multan Sultans’ Mohammad Rizwan was named the captain after he inspired his side to jump from fifth position after 14 Karachi-leg matches to second position at the end of the 30 league matches.

Rizwan finished the tournament with 500 runs with four half centuries from 12 matches at an average of 45.45 and strike-rate of 127.87. He also accounted for 20 batsmen behind the wickets to win the Best wicketkeeper of HBL PSL 6 award.

Sarfraz Ahmed was named the PSL Team captain in 2019 and Shadab Khan in 2020. Of the 11 playing members, Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz have been selected for the second time. Babar and Shaheen are the only two players to have retained their places from the 2020 side.

Babar has been chosen to open the innings with Afghanistan’s explosive batsman Hazratullah Zazai, with Colin Munro, Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Rizwan and Asif Ali forming the middle-order. Wahab Riaz leads the bowlers’ pack that also includes Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Rashid Khan.

Team of HBL PSL 6 (in batting order) (as per the criteria, playing XI must include a minimum of two and a maximum of four foreign players and one emerging category player):

1. Hazratullah Zazai (Peshawar Zalmi) (5 matches, 212 runs, 42.40 avg, 185.96 strike-rate)

2. Babar Azam (Karachi Kings) (11 matches, 554 runs, 69.25 avg, 132.53 strike-rate)

3. Colin Munro (Islamabad United) (7 matches, 285 runs, 57 avg, 169.64 strike-rate)

4. Sohaib Maqsood (Multan Sultans) 12 matches, 428 runs, 47.55 avg, 156.77 strike-rate)

5. Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wicketkeeper) (Multan Sultans) (12 matches, 500 runs, 45.45 avg, 127.87 strike-rate)

6. Asif Ali (Islamabad United) (12 matches, 224 runs, 28 avg, 167.16 strike-rate)

7. Wahab Riaz (Peshawar Zalmi) (12 matches, 18 wickets, strike-rate 15.67, eco. 8.97)

8. Rashid Khan (Lahore Qalandars) (8 matches, 11 wickets, strike-rate 17.45, eco. 5.46)

9. Hasan Ali (Islamabad United) (10 matches, 13 wickets, strike-rate 18.38, eco. 6.75)

10. Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars) (10 matches, 16 wickets, strike-rate 15.00, eco. 7.30)

11. Shahnawaz Dahani (Multan Sultans) (11 matches, 20 wickets, strike-rate 12.10, eco. 8.42)

James Faulkner (12th, Lahore Qalandars).