Ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) T20 season seven, Quetta Gladiators have roped in veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi from defending champions, Multan Sultans. The player trade for PSL 2022 closed on Thursday. Player retention deadline was 4:00 PM Pakistan time Friday. A team can retain a maximum of eight players. (More Cricket News)
List Of Retentions:
Islamabad United (8): Asif Ali, Hasan Ali (both Platinum), Faheem Ashraf (Diamond), Shadab Khan (Diamond, Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (Gold, Mentor), Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (both Gold) and Paul Stirling (Silver)
Karachi Kings (8): Babar Azam, Imad Wasim (both Platinum), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nabi (both Diamond), Joe Clarke (Gold, Brand Ambassador), Aamir Yamin, Sharjeel Khan (both Gold) and Mohammad Ilyas (Silver)
Lahore Qalandars (8): Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (both Platinum), Haris Rauf (Diamond, Brand Ambassador), David Wiese, Mohammad Hafeez (both Diamond), Ahmed Daniyal, Sohail Akhtar and Zeeshan Ashraf (all Silver)
Multan Sultans (7): Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (both Platinum), Imran Tahir (Diamond, Mentor), Sohaib Maqsood (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold, Brand Ambassador), Shahnawaz Dahani and Shan Masood (both Gold)
Peshawar Zalmi (8): Liam Livingstone, Wahab Riaz (both Platinum), Haider Ali, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik (all Diamond), Hussain Talat (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Gold, Brand Ambassador) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver)
Quetta Gladiators (7): James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed (both Platinum), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz (both Diamond), Shahid Afridi (Gold, Mentor), Mohammad Hasnain (Gold, Brand Ambassador) and Naseem Shah (Gold)
Afridi, a former Pakistan captain, played for Peshawar Zalmi in 2016-17, then turned up for Karachi Kings in 2018 and joined Multan Sultans in 2019. Quetta Gladiators are his fourth team in the PSL.
"I am excited to join Quetta Gladiators, a side that has had a roller-coaster ride in the past few events despite winning the title in 2019," Afridi said after the deal.
The 46-year-old will be playing in his final PSL season. Afridi played four matches for Sultans last year.
"In my final PSL event, it will be my dream and wish to sign off with another PSL trophy after tasting success with Peshawar Zalmi in 2017. PSL is an event that encourages and inspires a player to give his very best. I will use the same motivation to help my team and put up performances that can help us achieve our event objectives," he added.
Gladiators also signed England batter James Vince from the Sultans, who will now have extra picks in the upcoming PSL draft, scheduled for December 12.
Gladiators finished last in the previous season, winning only two matches in 10 outings.
The entirety of PSL 2022, which starts on January 27, will be played in Pakistan. The final is set to be played on February 27 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The venue gets 19 matches while Karachi will host 15.
Karachi Kings face Sultan Multans in the season opener at the National Stadium, Karachi.
The Teams: Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators
Here's the full schedule:
Matches from January 27 to February 7 are scheduled to be played at the National Stadium, Karachi; matches from February 10 - 27 are scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Match timings: Friday double-headers – 3pm & 8pm local time; other than Friday double-headers – 2pm & 7pm; all single-headers – 7pm. All times local.
27 Jan - Karachi Kings vs Multan Sultans;
28 Jan - Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi:
29 Jan - Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars; Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators;
30 Jan - Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United; Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars:
31 Jan - Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans;
1 Feb - Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans;
2 Feb - Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars;
3 Feb - Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United;
4 Feb - Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi;
Feb - Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars; Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans;
6 Feb - Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United;
7 Feb - Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars;
10 Feb- Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi;
11 Feb - Lahore Qalandars vs Multan Sultans;
12 Feb - Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators;
13 Feb - Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings; Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators;
4 Feb - Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings;
15 Feb - Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators;
16 Feb - Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings;
17 Feb - Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi;
18 Feb - Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators; Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings;
19 Feb - Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United;
20 Feb - Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings; Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United;
21 Feb - Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi;
23 Feb - Qualifier (1 vs 2);
24 Feb - Eliminator 1 (3 vs 4);
25 Feb - Eliminator 2 (Loser Qualifier 1 vs Winner Eliminator 1);
27 Feb – (Qualifier v Eliminator 2) Final.
In India, the Pakistan Super League will be telecast live by Sony Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on its SonyLiv platform.
