Prior to the PSL 9 draft, teams reveal which players will stay with them

All six franchises have finalised their trades and player retentions ahead of the HBL PSL Player Draft 2024, which is scheduled to take place on 13 December at National Cricket Academy, Lahore.

Each franchise was allotted a maximum of eight retentions. Barring Multan Sultans – who retained seven players – all franchises made full use of their retentions.

Reigning champions and winners of the last two seasons, Lahore Qalandars have retained their captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi in the Platinum category. In the Diamond category, Haris Rauf has been named the team’s brand ambassador. ICC’s sixth-ranked T20I all-rounder Sikandar Raza has been retained in Gold category while second-ranked T20I bowler Rashid Khan has been retained in Silver, though he may miss the tournament due to injury. Mirza Tahir Baig, after a successful relegation request, has been retained in Silver.Mirza Tahir Baig, after a successful relegation request, has been retained in Silver.

The ICC’s eighth-ranked T20I all-round player, Shadab Khan, has been retained by two-time winner Islamabad United, coupled with their successful Platinum category deal of Naseem Shah. Gold-category Faheeem Ashraf has been designated the team’s Brand Ambassador, while Diamond-category Imad Wasim, who joined Islamabad United from Karachi Kings, has been named the team’s Mentor. Rumman Raees’s relegation request was granted, and he is still in Silver.

Mohammad Rizwan, the skipper of the Multan Sultans and the second-ranked T20I batter in the ICC, has been kept in the Platinum category. Iftikhar Ahmed is the other Platinum player for Multan following a fruitful deal with Quetta Gladiators. Ihsanullah, the HBL PSL 2023 player of the tournament, has been named the team’s brand ambassador and has been kept in the Silver division. Following a fruitful deal with Karachi Kings, Faisal Akram has been kept on staff at Emerging.

Karachi Kings have decided to keep both Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik in gold. Before the transfer window closed, Shan Masood was moved for Faisal Akram, a left-arm wrist spinner. Malik has been designated as the team mentor, and Shan has also been chosen the brand ambassador. Mir Hamza’s request to be demoted was granted, and he is now still in Silver.

The Quetta Gladiators have kept hold of Wanindu Hasaranga, the third-ranked T20I bowler, in Diamond and Rilee Rossouw, the world’s No. 5 T20I hitter, in Platinum. Following a fruitful deal, Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Abrar Ahmed were kept in Gold and Diamond, respectively. Furthermore kept in Diamond is Jason Roy, who now has the record for the greatest individual score in HBL PSL history. Sarfaraz Ahmed has been appointed Quetta Gladiator’s Brand Ambassador and is retained in Gold category.

Alongside West Indies power hitter Rovman Powell, Babar Azam, the most successful batter in HBL PSL history, has been retained in Platinum by Peshawar Zalmi. He is currently ranked No. 4 in the ICC T20I rankings. Muhammad Haris has been awarded a Brand Ambassador in addition to being kept in the Gold category.

Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi (Platinum), Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador) and David Wiese (both Diamond), Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique and Zaman Khan (all Gold), Mirza Tahir Baig (Successful relegation request) and Rashid Khan (both Silver).

HBL PSL 2024 player retentions are officially out… 🏏🎁

Click for more details 🔗👇🏽https://t.co/2rCCta1zRo#HBLPSLDraft #HBLPSL9 pic.twitter.com/LMIngPMHb4

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) December 7, 2023

Islamabad United: Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah (both Platinum), Imad Wasim (Mentor) and Azam Khan (both Diamond), Faheem Ashraf (Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales and Colin Munro (all Gold), Rumman Raees (Successful relegation request in Silver).

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed (both Platinum), Khushdil Shah and Usama Mir (both Diamond), Abbas Afridi (Gold), Ihsanullah (Brand Ambassador, Silver), Faisal Akram (Emerging).

Karachi Kings: James Vince and Hasan Ali (Diamond), Shan Masood (Brand Ambassador), Shoaib Malik (Mentor) and Tabraiz Shamsi (all Gold), Mir Hamza (Successful relegation request) and Muhammad Akhlaq (both Silver), Muhammad Irfan Khan (Emerging).

Quetta Gladiators: Rilee Rossouw (Platinum), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Jason Roy and Wanindu Hasaranga (all Diamond), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Brand Ambassador) Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Hasnain (all Gold), Will Smeed (Silver).

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam and Rovman Powell (both Platinum), Saim Ayub and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (all Diamond), Mohammad Haris (Brand Ambassador) and Aamir Jamal (both Gold), Khurram Shahzad (Silver), Haseebullah (Emerging).

Some of the star foreign players registered in the top two categories:

Platinum: Daniel Sams, Ashton Agar (both Australia), Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (all Afghanistan), Ben Duckett, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Dawid Malan, Luke Wood, Reece Topley, Tom Curran, Tymal Mills (all England), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), James Neesham (New Zealand), Rassie van der Dussen, Imran Tahir (both South Africa), Maheesh Theekshana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (all Sri Lanka), Kieron Pollard, Romario Shepherd, Brandon King Sherfane Rutherford and Kyle Mayers (all West Indies)

Diamond: Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi (both Afghanistan), Ben McDermott (Australia), Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah (all Bangladesh), Dan Lawrence, Gus Atkinson, Jordan Cox, Liam Dawson, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Richard Gleeson, Sam Hain (all England), Tim Seifert, Martin Guptill, Chad Bowes (all New Zealand), George Linde, Lungi Ngidi, Reeza Hendricks, Wayne Parnell, Sisanda Magala (all South Africa), Dilshan Madushanka, Charith Asalanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Sadeera Samarawickrama (all Sri Lanka), Fabian Allen, Johnson Charles, Rahkeem Cornwall, Roston Chase, Shai Hope, Hayden Walsh (all West Indies)