The 8th edition of the Pakistan Super League is all set to start on 13 February in Multan, It will be the first time that the City of saints will host the opening ceremony of PSL. All six franchises have finalized their squad after the draft last month. Star T20 players including the likes of hard-hitting proteas middle order batter David Miller, Australian T20 World Cup hero Matthew Wade and Srilankan Asia Cup hero Rajapaksa were drafted in by teams for PSL season 8.
Many star players from all over the world were picked in the draft but a few seasoned campaigners and young performers were unable to grab the attention of the franchises for PSL season 8.
Experienced Players who failed to grab a spot in Psl Season 8:
Kamran Akmal:
The veteran wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was not retained by Peshawar Zalmi and no other team picked him for PSL season 8 either. If we look at his stats in PSL, Akmal represented Peshawar in 75 matches and scored 1972 runs and he stands second in the highest run scorer list behind his cousin Babar Azam who tops the chart and has 2413 runs to his name. Kamran has 3 centuries in his 75 appearances, the most by any batsman in PSL.
Muhammad Hafeez
The professor of cricket was one of the players who was not picked by any team, playing 71 matches he has scored 1596 runs and he is on the list of the 5 highest run-getters in PSL history. The experienced all-rounder was not retained by his former side Lahore Qalandars. There were rumours about him joining Karachi but all were false and the Professor will not be part of PSL.
Ahmed Shehzad
The stylish opening batsman Ahmed Shezad was one of the top players who weren’t picked for PSL season 8. The player who was once compared with Virat and Pakistan’s first player to score a century in all formats was not selected by any team.
Sohail Tanvir
The experienced bowler, Sohail Tanvir who had priorly represented 5 PSL teams, played in 61 matches and took 55 wickets. An experienced campaigner who can bring his vast experience to the table was also unable to find a place in PSL season 8.
Young Guns to miss out on PSL season 8
PSL is all about stars and young players. This year, young blood was picked based on their performance in the PJL inaugural season and domestic tournaments. Hassebullah, Shawaiz Irfan, Zeeshan Zamir and PJL star bowler Aimal khan were picked but some deserving and top performers were ignored as well.
Basit Ali
The young Bahawalpur opening batsman. Basit was the top performer in PJL, scoring 379 runs in just 8 matches with an average of 63.16 and a strike rate of 150.39 but he was unlucky and didn’t get picked in the draft.
Shamyl Hussain
Shamyl Hussain was among the unluckiest players who were not picked by any team. While representing Gwadar Sharks in PJL, he scored 206 runs in 7 matches. Shamyl is a promising emerging player and an eye-catching opener, but he will have to wait a bit more before he could get a go in the Pakistan Super League.
Tayyab Arif
A young aggressive middle-order batsman was also not picked by any team. Tayyab only got a chance in 5 games of PJL but he availed the limited opportunities to his fullest and scored 155 runs with a strike rate of 130.
Muhammad Zeeshan
Another Bahawalpur player, Muhammad Zeeshan was the top wicket-taker in Pakistan Junior League, taking 14 wickets in 8 appearances. Muhammad Zeeshan is another name that wasn’t considered by any of the franchises.
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