PSL 2022: List of retained players ahead of seventh season

Cricket fans must mark their calendars as the 2022 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to get underway on January 27. The preparations for the tournament seem to be on song as all the six franchises have finalized their list of retained players. While the deadline for player trades was closed on Thursday (9th December), the player retention deadline was shut a day later.

Each side was allowed to retain a maximum of eight players, divided into four categories – Diamond, Platinum, Gold, and Silver. Except for Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators, the other four franchises utilized their full quota of retentions. It must be noted that each franchise can have a maximum of 18 players in their squad.

Babar Azam to lead Karachi Kings in PSL 2022

Speaking of the retentions, defending champions Sultans retained their skipper Mohammad Rizwan and key batter Rilee Rossouw in the Platinum category. Karachi Kings retained Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Imad Wasim in the same category. Notably, Azam has also replaced Imad as the skipper for the upcoming season.

Champions of the 2017 edition, Peshawar Zalmi retained Liam Livingstone and Wahab Riaz as Platinum retentions. As far as the Lahore Qalandars are concerned, they retained Rashid Khan and Shaheen Afridi in the Platinum category.

Speaking of the other two sides, Islamabad United retained Hasan Ali and promoted Asif Ali as their two Platinum players. Meanwhile, the Gladiators retained Sarfaraz Ahmed and added James Vince to their list of Platinum players. With these players being their team’s first choice retentions, expectations are sky high from them.

Meanwhile, a total of 34 games will be played in PSL 2022. The top four teams in the league stages will advance to the playoffs of the tournament.

List of retained players ahead of PSL 2022

Peshawar Zalmi – Liam Livingstone, Wahab Riaz (both Platinum), Haider Ali, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik (all Diamond), Hussain Talat (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Gold, Brand Ambassador), and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver)

Multan Sultans – Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (both Platinum), Imran Tahir (Diamond, Mentor), Sohaib Maqsood (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold, Brand Ambassador), Shahnawaz Dahani, and Shan Masood (both Gold)

Quetta Gladiators – James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed (both Platinum), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz (both Diamond), Shahid Afridi (Gold, Mentor), Mohammad Hasnain (Gold, Brand Ambassador), and Naseem Shah (Gold)

Islamabad United – Asif Ali, Hasan Ali (both Platinum), Faheem Ashraf (Diamond), Shadab Khan (Diamond, Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (Gold, Mentor), Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (both Gold), and Paul Stirling (Silver)

Karachi Kings – Babar Azam, Imad Wasim (both Platinum), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nabi (both Diamond), Joe Clarke (Gold, Brand Ambassador), Aamir Yamin, Sharjeel Khan (both Gold), and Mohammad Ilyas (Silver)

Lahore Qalandars – Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (both Platinum), Haris Rauf (Diamond, Brand Ambassador), David Wiese, Mohammad Hafeez (both Diamond), Ahmed Daniyal, Sohail Akhtar, and Zeeshan Ashraf (all Silver)