Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis is “excited” to play the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 next month, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced as play is set to resume eight months after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The PCB, in a statement, said that a total of 21 foreign stars, including former South Africa captain Plessis, England batsman Alex Hales, Australia’s Ben Dunk as well as World T20 winners Carlos Brathwaite and Darren Sammy have agreed to come back play the remaining matches of PSL 2020.
“I am very excited to join Peshawar Zalmi for the playoff stage games of PSL 2020. I have fond memories of playing in Pakistan when I toured with the ICC World XI in 2017 and I am sure this experience, although different due to COVID-19, will be a memorable one as well,” said Plessis.
The PSL 2020 was left incomplete in March following the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Pakistan. The PCB has scheduled its play-offs for November 14 and 15, with the final to be played on the 17th.
Ahead of the PSL restart, the PCB has released a list of foreign talents that have told the PCB they are open to coming back and taking part in the business end of the tournament.
From South Africa, Du Plessis (Peshawar Zalmi), Cameron Delport (Karachi Kings), Dane Vilas, David Wiese (both Lahore Qalandars), Rilee Rossouw, Imran Tahir (both Multan Sultans) and Hardus Viljoen (Peshawar Zalmi); from England, Hales (Karachi Kings), James Vince (Karachi Kings), Samit Patel (Lahore Qalandars), Adam Lyth, Ravi Bopara (both Multan Sultans) and Liam Livingstone (Peshawar Zalmi); and from the West Indies, Chadwick Walton (Karachi Kings), Sherfane Rutherford (Karachi Kings), Brathwaite (Peshawar Zalmi) and Daren Sammy (Peshawar Zalmi) will be in action.
“Bangladesh will be represented by Tamim Iqbal (Lahore Qalandars) and Mahmudullah (Multan Sultans), while Ben Dunk, who was one of the stars in the initial stages of the PSL 2020, will be aiming to help Lahore Qalandars win their first title in five attempts,” the PCB press release detailed.
