PCB announces order for PSL 9 Player Draft

With cricket fans eagerly awaiting the ninth edition of the country’s premier cricket tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced the player draft selection order for the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Quetta Gladiators will make the first pick in the PSL 2024 player draft followed by Karachi Kings and two-time winners Islamabad United with second and third picks, respectively.

Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth picks will go to Peshawar Zalmi and PSL-8 runners-up Multan Sultans, while Lahore Qalandars will have the sixth pick in the first round of the player draft.

“The first-round pick order for the Platinum division is determined by the reverse order of the previous season’s standings. To make the pick order fairer, a different franchise will occupy the first pick in the first round of each division,” the board said in a press release.

Quetta Gladiators will start the Platinum picks, Karachi Kings will have the first Diamond pick, Peshawar Zalmi will have the inaugural Gold pick, Multan Sultans will have the first pick in the Silver category, Islamabad United will pick the first player in the emerging category and Lahore Qalandars will have the first supplementary pick.

“The PCB has previously opened the registration window for foreign players. The flagship event is tentatively scheduled from February 8 to March 24, 2024,” the press release added.

The board also stressed that franchisees will submit relegation requests for players before finalizing bookings.

After pending relegation requests, all teams have the opportunity to match the player’s base class. If the player’s basic category does not match, he can be demoted to a category below his basic category, the PCB said.

The PSL 9 Draft is likely to take place in mid-December after the conclusion of the National T20.