Two of the best batsmen of the modern era Steve Smith and Kane Williamson have not made themselves available for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), while the PCB is also expecting the England Cricket Board (ECB) clearance regarding participation of their players in the T20 tournament in April-May.
According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, the mega-stars such as David Warner, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, and Mustafizur Rahman will be part of the Platinum category during the players draft on January 11.
Other big names included in the Platinum category which ranks the highest are Australia’s Matthew Short, Riley Meredith, and Steve Smith (subject to confirmation), Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran and Tom Kohler-Cadmore of England.
Kane Williamson, who would be under confirmation, also has Finn Allen and Mark Chapman from New Zealand in the platinum category. The platinum category also includes Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka and West Indies’ Shai Hope.
Clearly, Smith and Williamson have withdrawn their availability for the PSL due to some previous commitments.
For the first time, the PSL has coincided with the IPL, and the PCB has been making efforts to secure the currently-available high-profile overseas players who have not been selected for this year’s IPL.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will now be bitterly disappointed as he can bowl in this league.
Other players in the platinum category are Chris Lynn, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Kusal Mendis, David Willey, Usman Khawaja, Zak Crawley, Jason Roy, Michael Bracewell, and Alex Hales.
With the wicketkeeper of Australia, Alex Carey, there are several other foreign players who have been put in the Diamond and Gold categories.