The Pakistan Super League (PSL) was suspended midway due to a surge of covid-19 cases in Pakistan. The last PSL match took place between Quetta Gladiators (QG) and Multan Sultans (MS) on March 3 at the National Stadium in Karachi. The Gladiators won the match by 22 runs.
According to the latest developments, all six franchises of the PSL picked up players via an online auction. Big names like Shakib al Hasan and Andre Russell have signed up as replacements for the remainder of PSL 2021.
While Russell will replace Tom Banton in the Gladiators, Shakib Al Hasan will join Lahore Qalandars in the vacant spot of Rashid Khan. Australia’s Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns, James Faulkner, and Callum Ferguson were among the 19 players picked up as replacements.
Only 14 games have been played in PSL 2021 so far, with the remaining 20 games set to resume from June 1 onwards.
PSL 2021 overseas replacements
- Islamabad United: Usman Khawaja replaces Alex Hales, Janneman Malan replaces Lewis Gregory.
- Karachi Kings: Martin Guptill replaces Colin Ingram, Thisara Perera replaces Mohammad Nabi, Najeebullah Zadran replaces Dan Christian, Litton Das replaces Joe Clarke
- Lahore Qalandars: Shakib-Al-Hasan replaces Rashid Khan, James Faulkner replaces David Wiese, Joe Burns replaces Samit Patel, Callum Ferguson replaces Tom Abell, Seekuge Prasana replaces Joe Denly
- Multan Sultans: Mahmudullah Riyad replaces Chris Lynn, Rahmanullah Gurbaz replaces James Vince, George Linde replaces Adam Lyth, Obed McCoy replaces Carlos Brathwaite
- Peshawar Zalmi: Fabian Allen replaces Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Rovman Powell replaces Liam Livingstone, Fidel Edwards replaces Saqib Mahmood
- Quetta Gladiators: Andre Russell replaces Tom Banton
Meanwhile, former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar in a recent tweet, urged PCB and BCCI to stop PSL and IPL till further notice. He expounded that governments should contribute all the resources to help their citizens during these tough times rather than investing them in cricket.
“BCCI & PCB should both rethink if this is a good time to continue the IPL or restart the PSL. Things are tough,” tweeted Akhtar while sharing a clip of his YouTube vlog.
