PSL 2022 drafts to take place on December 12

The draft for the 2022 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to take place on Sunday, December 12. The Lahore Qalandars, led by Sohail Akhtar, will have their first pick in the drafts. Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that the T20 tournament will get underway in late January instead of its conventional slot of February-March.

Although the final date for the start of the championship is yet to be announced, as per sources, the PSL will kickstart from either January 26 or January 27. It was also learned that the PSL franchise owners wanted the tournament to take place in January since the Emirates Premier League (EPL) is also set to be played in January-February.

After the end of the PSL, the players can take part in the EPL. Going by sources, an auction model was thought of for the seventh edition of the PSL, but the draft process has stayed for the time being.

Here’s the complete order of the drafts for PSL 2022

1st Pick — Lahore Qalandars

2nd Pick — Multan Sultans

3rd Pick — Karachi Kings

4th Pick — Islamabad United

5th Pick — Peshawar Zalmi

6th Pick — Quetta Gladiators

The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the National Stadium in Karachi are set to host 17 matches each in the PSL 2022. The final will take place in Lahore. The PCB would also be a little careful since the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the tournament twice in the last two weeks. Last season, the PSL had to be shifted to Abu Dhabi after coronavirus entered the camps in March.

Multan Sultans – the defending champions

The Multan Sultans, led by Mohammad Rizwan, are the defending champions of the tournament. On Thursday, June 24, they defeated the Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs to win their maiden PSL title. After being put in to bat first, the Sultans got a big score of 206 for four on the board in their 20 overs.

Sohaib Maqsood, who went on to get the Player of the Match award, scored an unbeaten 35-ball 65 with the help of six fours and three sixes. Thereafter, the Zalmi were restricted to 159 for nine. Imran Tahir was the star of the show as he picked up three wickets.