Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan and Usman Khawaja among names set to feature in PSL 2021
On Tuesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) conducted a ‘replacement draft’ for the rest of PSL 2021, in which both Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan were snapped up by the franchises. Barring the duo, Martin Guptill, Litton Das, Usman Khawaja and James Faulkner were among the names picked.
Earlier this month, the Pakistan Cricket Board had confirmed that the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) would resume in June after the tournament was suspended mid-way through the competition two months ago owing to a Covid outbreak. The start of PSL 2021 saw a plethora of superstar overseas players, including Rashid Khan and Chris Gayle, take part in the competition but Covid situation and other complications saw a host of names pull out. The PCB, as a result, conducted a ‘replacement draft’ on April 27, in which franchises were allowed to snap up replacement overseas players for the remainder of the season.
All six franchises picked overseas replacements via an online process, and the biggest signing turned out to be that of Andre Russell. Currently representing Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Russell was snapped up by Quetta Gladiators as a replacement for Tom Banton, and the Big Jamiacan will now be joining the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side, which also features the likes of Azam Khan, Usman Shinwari and Naseem Shah.
The second biggest name in the draft was Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who was picked by Lahore Qalandars. The Qalandars signed Shakib as a replacement for Rashid Khan, and the all-rounder will be joining a strong Lahore unit that features Fakhar Zaman, Mohammed Hafeez, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
Among the other names picked in the auction where Martin Guptill, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns, Callum Ferguson, James Faulkner, Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Thisara Perera, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Fabian Allen, all of whom will be featuring in the remainder of PSL 2021, that will resume on June 1.
PSL 2021 overseas replacements
Islamabad United: Usman Khawaja replaces Alex Hales, Janneman Malan replaces Lewis Gregory.
Karachi Kings: Martin Guptill replaces Colin Ingram, Thisara Perera replaces Mohammad Nabi, Najeebullah Zadran replaces Dan Christian, Litton Das replaces Joe Clarke
Lahore Qalandars: Shakib-Al-Hasan replaces Rashid Khan, James Faulkner replaces David Wiese, Joe Burns replaces Samit Patel, Callum Ferguson replaces Tom Abell, Seekuge Prasana replaces Joe Denly
Multan Sultans: Mahmudullah Riyad replaces Chris Lynn, Rahmanullah Gurbaz replaces James Vince, George Linde replaces Adam Lyth, Obed McCoy replaces Carlos Brathwaite
Peshawar Zalmi: Fabian Allen replaces Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Rovman Powell replaces Liam Livingstone, Fidel Edwards replaces Saqib Mahmood
Quetta Gladiators :Andre Russell replaces Tom Banton