The six existing Pakistan Super League franchises have released their retention lists ahead of the 11th season. A total of 19 players will stay with their teams across five categories. These categories include Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Emerging.
Lahore Qalandars, Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi, and Karachi Kings kept four players each. Islamabad United chose to retain three players. Multan Sultans made a surprising decision. They did not retain any players after missing the playoffs last season. Meanwhile, newcomers Sialkot Stallionz have made headlines by signing Australian batting star Steve Smith as their marquee overseas player ahead of their inaugural PSL campaign.
Top Pakistani Stars Retained In Platinum Category
Five top Pakistani cricketers secured spots in the highest-paid Platinum category. Babar Azam leads this elite group along with Shaheen Afridi. Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, and Hasan Ali also earned Platinum retention deals.
The Diamond category features four players. Abdullah Shafique, Usman Tariq, Sufyan Moqim, and Abbas Afridi will play under this tier.
Full List of Team Retentions
Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Afridi (Platinum), Abdullah Shafique (Diamond), Sikandar Raza (Gold), Mohammad Naeem (Silver)
Quetta Gladiators: Abrar Ahmed (Platinum), Usman Tariq (Diamond), Hasan Nawaz (Gold), Shamyl Hussain (Emerging)
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (Platinum), Salman Irshad (Gold), Andries Gous (Silver)
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (Platinum), Sufyan Moqim (Diamond), Abdul Samad (Gold), Ali Raza (Emerging)
Karachi Kings: Hasan Ali (Platinum), Abbas Afridi (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold), Saad Baig (Emerging)
Multan Sultans: No retentions
New Franchises Get Special Picking Rights
The two new franchises have received special privileges. They can select and retain any four players from the available pool. These teams must announce their retentions before February 7. The PSL will also introduce a player auction model from this season.
Steve Smith Joins Sialkot Stallionz
Sialkot Stallionz have made a major signing for their first PSL season. The franchise acquired Australian batter Steve Smith as a direct signing. Each team can sign one overseas player who did not play in the previous edition.
Smith showed brilliant form in this year’s Big Bash League. He scored 299 runs from six innings for the Sydney Sixers. His team reached the BBL final this season.
Despite his strong T20 performances, Australia did not select Smith for their T20 World Cup squad. The 36-year-old also went unsold at the IPL Auction last year.
His PSL commitment prevents him from joining any IPL team as a replacement player. However, players have withdrawn from PSL before after receiving IPL replacement offers.
