Mitchell Johnson decides to give PSL 2018 a miss

Pakistan is all set to host the third season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the month of February. This is the first time in the history of PSL that there will be 6 teams playing each other in 34 matches, 2 playoffs and a final. The last part of the league will be played in the home country and many star players from around the world are set to participate in the league this season.

One of those stars was supposed to be former Australian pace bowler Mitchell Johnson who represented Australia from 2007-2015. In 2015, he retired from all forms of international cricket and has been a globe totter playing domestic leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Big Bash League (BBL) at home. He was an important part of the Mumbai Indians squad that won the title.

Similarly, he was all set to feature in the PSL as well. He was expected to wear the Karachi Kings’ jersey the team led by star all-rounder Shahid Afridi. But the pacer has changed his mind and decided to opt out of the tournament citing some personal reasons.

He tweeted regarding the same and stated that he would like to prepare himself for the upcoming T20 tournaments in a way that he feels comfortable and that it was the only reason for his decision to opt out. He also wished the team Karachi Kings good luck for the season.

He posted his message on Twitter and wrote- ”
The updated squad for Karachi Kings:
Shahid Afridi, Usman Khan, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Ravi Bopara, Imad Wasim (capt), Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Colin Ingram, Luke Wright, David Wiese, Tabish Khan, Mohammad Irfan Jnr., Hasan Mohsin.”

Although the team has quite a few well-known players, the absence of Johnson is going to be a big blow to their plans. All the burden of pace bowling will be on the shoulders of Usman Khan who has recently recovered from a shoulder injury.

Here is Johnson’s tweet:

Yes I am making myself unavailable this PSL18 for personal reasons & also for me to schedule myself the way I feel works best for me this year for 20/20 tournaments. These are the only reasons for me not playing. I wish KK the best for the season.

— Mitchell Johnson (@MitchJohnson398) January 16, 2018

The updated squad for Karachi Kings:

Shahid Afridi, Usman Khan, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Ravi Bopara, Imad Wasim (capt), Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Colin Ingram, Luke Wright, David Wiese, Tabish Khan, Mohammad Irfan Jnr., Hasan Mohsin.