T20 Global League: Durban Qalandars will make the first pick in player drafts

The player draft for the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League is all set to get underway this weekend. The player drafts will take place on August 26 and August 27 in Cape Town. The T20 league is the new brainchild of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) and will be played on the lines of popular T20 leagues like the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League.

As per the recent reports in Geo.tv, Durban Qalandars will be first team to make a pick during the drafts this year. The Durban franchise is owned by Fawad Rana, who also owns the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The Durban Qalandars will be representing KwaZulu Natal province in the competition. Interestingly, the T20 Global League will see the representation of Pakistani cricketers as well.

Pakistan players in the draft

It is a known fact that arguably the most popular league, the IPL, does not feature the Pakistani cricketers. Hence, this league will certainly bring joy to the Pakistani fans. As many as 25 players from Pakistan will be in the drafts. The likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, and Salman Butt are included in the drafts.

The names of Sami Aslam, Ahmed Shahzad, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Abbas, Anwar Ali, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal and Yasir Shah are the other prominent names in the list.

The drafts will also have the names on international marquee players. This list includes the names of Chris Gayle, Jason Roy, Brendon MccCullum, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Dwyane Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and Lasith Malinga.

Clash with BPL

The T20 Global League will commence on November 3 this year. Incidentally, the tournament will clash with the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). It will be worth seeing which players opt to play in which particular league this November.