With the rise in popularity of the T20 leagues worldwide, Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) new brainchild Pakistan Super League (PSL) is expected to hit the floor on 4 February. PSL 2016 will be played in Dubai and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The player draft event took place on Monday and five franchises -- Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United, Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators -- flexed their economic muscles to rope in their desired cricket players for their respective franchises.
Kevin Pietersen was the hottest of the buys as he was picked up for a staggering fee of £94,000 by Quetta Gladiators. Second on that list was Luke Wright who was also picked up by the same franchise for a whopping £47,000.
Chris Gayle and his West Indies teammate Dwayne Bravo will be part of Lahore Qalandars. Bangladesh seam bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman will also play for the same franchise.
Islamabad United picked up some good players as well. Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Andre Russell, Misbah ul Haq and Samuel Badree have been roped in for their side.
Pakistan T20 skipper Shahid Afridi will be playing for Peshawar Zalmi alongside the likes of Wahab Riaz, Tamim Iqbal, Darren Sammy. Mohammad Hafeez and others.
Younis Khan, Ian Bell, James Anderson remained unpicked in the PSL player draft on Monday.
The fans need not be unhappy as the player draft will continue on Tuesday and these iconic players might get picked up by any of the five franchises.
Complete list of players picked up by five franchises in PSL player draft:
Karachi Kings (Head coach: Mickey Arthur): Shoaib Malik, Shakib Al Hasan, Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Ravi Bopara, Lendll Simmons, Mohammad Amir, Bilawal Bhatti, James Vince.
Peshawar Zalmi (Head coach: Mohammad Akram): Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Darren Sammy, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Jim Allenby.
Islamabad United (Head coach: Dean Jones): Shane Watson, Andre Russell, Misbah-ul-Haq, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif.
Lahore Qalandars (Head coach: Paddy Upton): Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Umar Akmal, Muhammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood, Mustafizur Rahman, Kevon Cooper, Cameron Delport.
Quetta Gladiators (Head coach: Moin Khan): Kevin Pietersen, Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Jason Holder, Luke Wright, Zulfiqar Babar, Umar Gul, Elton Chigumbura.
