21 foreign stars confirm participation in remaining four games of PSL 2020, Faf du Plessis joins PZ

[The Viper]

Lahore, 2 November 2020:

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis will make his HBL Pakistan Super League debut as he was one of the 21 foreign stars to confirm his participation in the remaining four matches of Pakistan’s marquee event, which will be played in Karachi on 14, 15 and 17 November.

Du Plessis has played 255 international matches for South Africa, including 47 T20Is and is ranked 31st in the ICC T20I Player Rankings for Batsmen.

Du Plessis last visited Pakistan in 2017 as the ICC World XI captain and will represent Peshawar Zalmi as a replacement player for Kieron Pollard, who will be in New Zealand with the West Indies side.

Faf du Plessis: “I am very excited to join Peshawar Zalmi for the playoff stage games of HBL PSL 2020. I have fond memories of playing in Pakistan when I toured with the ICC World XI in 2017 and I am sure this experience, although different due to Covid-19, will be a memorable one as well.”

Besides du Plessis, Cameron Delport (Karachi Kings), Dane Vilas, David Wiese (both Lahore Qalandars), Rilee Rossouw, Imran Tahir (both Multan Sultans) and Hardus Viljoen (Peshawar Zalmi) are the other South Africa players who will be in action in the tournament that carries a total prize money of $1million.

Six England cricketers, led by Alex Hales and James Vince, have also shown their commitment to continue to feature in one of the most attractive and widely followed leagues.

Hales and Vince will be in Karachi Kings’ and Multan Sultan’s colours respectively, while the other four England players are Samit Patel (Lahore Qalandars), Adam Lyth, Ravi Bopara (both Multan Sultans) and Liam Livingstone (Peshawar Zalmi).

Off the four West Indies players, two - Chadwick Walton and Sherfane Rutherford – will appear for Karachi, while two - Carlos Brathwaite and Daren Sammy – will represent Peshawar Zalmi. Rutherford will replace Chris Jordon, who will be in South Africa with the England side.

Bangladesh will be represented in the HBL PSL 2020 playoffs by Tamim Iqbal (Lahore Qalandars) and Mahmudullah (Multan Sultans).

Mahmudullah: “It’s an honour to play in the HBL PSL. Cricket is being played very differently this year and I hope to play a part in bringing smiles to the faces of our fans.”

Tamim Iqbal: “I can’t wait to be back at the HBL PSL. Lahore Qalandars have had an amazing journey and I want to help our team win the trophy this year.”

Ben Dunk, the 33-year-old Queenslander who was one of the stars in the initial stages of the HBL PSL this year, will be aiming to help Lahore Qalandars win their first title in five attempts.

HBL PSL 2020 was the first event to be held entirely in Pakistan since its inception in 2016. The fifth edition commenced in Karachi on 20 February, but was suspended on 17 March.

Apart from Karachi and Rawalpindi, Lahore and Multan were the two other venues to host 30 of the 34 matches as nearly half a million spectators crossed turnstiles to witness live action.

Squads:

Karachi Kings - Aamir Yamin, Alex Hales (England), Arshad Iqbal, Awais Zia, Babar Azam, Cameron Delport (South Africa), Chadwick Walton (West Indies), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mitchel McClenaghan (New Zealand), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Sharjeel Khan, Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Umaid Asif, Umer Khan,Usama Mir and Waqas Maqsood

Lahore Qalandars - Abid Ali, Agha Salman, Ben Dunk (Australia), Dane Vilas (South Africa), David Wiese (South Africa), Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Farzan Raja, Haris Rauf, Jaahid Ali, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Hafeez, Samit Patel (England), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Akhtar, Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh) and Usman Shinwari

Multan Sultans - Adam Lyth (England), Ali Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Imran Tahir (South Africa), James Vince (England), Junaid Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mahmudullah (Bangladesh), Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Ravi Bopara (England), Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Rohail Nazir, Shaan Masood, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir and Zeeshan Ashraf

Peshawar Zalmi - Aamir Ali, Adil Amin, Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Daren Sammy (West Indies), Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Haider Ali Khan, Hardus Viljoen (South Africa), Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Khurram Shehzad, Liam Livingstone (England), Mohammad Mohsin, Rahat Ali, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah

Replacements:

Karachi Kings - Sherfane Rutherford comes in for Chris Jordan; Waqas Maqsood comes in for Ali Khan

Lahore Qalandars – Tamim comes in for Chris Lynn, Abid Ali replaces Salman Butt and Agha Salman takes over from Seekkuge Prasanna.

Multan Sultans – Mahmudullah comes in for Moeen Ali; Adam Lyth replaced Fabian Allen

Peshawar Zalmi – Faf du Plessis replaces Kieron Pollard; Hardus Viljoen joins in place of Liam Dawson; Yasir Shah will continue, replacing Lewis Gregory; Khurram Shahzad joins the side in place of Amir Khan

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Qalandars look hardest hit losing Lynn followed by Karachi losing Chris Jordan and Ali Khan.

Zalmi also has its entire combination changed. Will be very interesting to see how teams adapt.

 

[Kaddy]

There were many better youngsters in National T20 cup.

But

Lahore Qalandars replaced Salman Butt with Abid Ali

They should've gone for Zeeshan Malik or Danish Aziz.

 

[zacattakk]

There were many better youngsters in National T20 cup.

But

Lahore Qalandars replaced Salman Butt with Abid Ali

They should've gone for Zeeshan Malik or Danish Aziz.

This is why its difficult to support or like Lahore Qalanders - the same clueless management making stupid decisions has really gotten old.

 

[zacattakk]

At least Karachi and Peshawar made sensible changes - Waqas Maqsood and Khurram Shahzad bowled reasonably well in the national T20.

Abid Ali did not bat well and looked ill-suited to T20 cricket at even the domestic level, and hence was rightfully dropped by Central Punjab. So Lahore Q decided to pick him for the PSL?! Some Lahori dosti must have come in handy

 

[Thunderbolt14]

At least Karachi and Peshawar made sensible changes - Waqas Maqsood and Khurram Shahzad bowled reasonably well in the national T20.

Abid Ali did not bat well and looked ill-suited to T20 cricket at even the domestic level, and hence was rightfully dropped by Central Punjab. So Lahore Q decided to pick him for the PSL?! Some Lahori dosti must have come in handy

Have to agree, it’s very scary. They could easily have gone for Abdullah Shafique, Zeeshan Malik, or Ali Imran.

 

[Rana]

Zalmi’s cup to lose

 

[MMHS]

Lahore Qalandar must have someone like Ed Woodward at a top position - of all BD players, they went for Tamim!!!! I am not sure who’ll keep for them, but they had the option to pick Liton from BD.... and went for Tamim.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Zalmi’s cup to lose

They have to win two back to back games to make the finals. I feel odds are stacked against them.

Multan and Karachi have to win just one from the next 2, and between all the teams Multan has the least hit squad post-pandemic.

 

[Rana]

They have to win two back to back games to make the finals. I feel odds are stacked against them.

Multan and Karachi have to win just one from the next 2, and between all the teams Multan has the least hit squad post-pandemic.

Faf is a huge addition. I think they have a huge edge now because of this

 

[naseem]

Apart from Faf none r worth mentioning....Ali Khan is a big loss....also Lynn

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Faf is a huge addition. I think they have a huge edge now because of this

As a Zalmi fan, I hope you’re right

 

[angrypathan]

Pretty decent turnout by Covid standards. I'm actually surprised most players are coming back, especially someone like Dunk who will have to go into hotel quarantine for 2 weeks when he returns to Australia.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Du plessis joining the counterpart yellow team lol.

 

[Hasan123]

Delighted to see Faf Du Plessis in the PSL. A genuine world class LO player.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Lahore Qalandar must have someone like Ed Woodward at a top position - of all BD players, they went for Tamim!!!! I am not sure who’ll keep for them, but they had the option to pick Liton from BD.... and went for Tamim.

Dude Tamim is good and he always comes good in the top order. Him and Sohail Akhtar will make an excellent opening pair plus he did really well to get Comilla Victorians the cup in the previous BPL.

 

[Bewal Express]

What happened to Amir Khan?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

du Plessis is a big signing. Zalmi look even better now. Multan might miss Moeen Ali.

Should be between Multan and Peshawar for the trophy.

 

[Rana]

You got to hand it to Javed Afridi, the guy has some top networking skills. Excellent work to sign Faf DuPlesis

 

[Rana]

Imagine DeKock, Rabada and Nortje in next years PSL

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Surprises me how Zeeshan Malik hasn't played a PSL match yet. Even when he been doing really well for a couple of years now.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Imagine DeKock, Rabada and Nortje in next years PSL

Unlikely since South Africa usually have their home season during that time.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Dude Tamim is good and he always comes good in the top order. Him and Sohail Akhtar will make an excellent opening pair plus he did really well to get Comilla Victorians the cup in the previous BPL.

Tamim is okay. He can play a long innings but he is not a quick scorer. Liton Das might actually have been a slightly better pick.

 

[Rana]

Unlikely since South Africa usually have their home season during that time.

Bro it’s South Africa the new West Indies of Franchise cricket. Mercenaries will remain mercenaries

 

[naseem]

Imagine DeKock, Rabada and Nortje in next years PSL

It's actually possible

 

[Sami92]

Multan Sultans could have picked Shakib Al Hasan instead of Mahmudullah.

 

[Rana]

Multan Sultans could have picked Shakib Al Hasan instead of Mahmudullah.

A bit stupid if that’s the case. Franchise owners might be a bit tentative with the negative image of the player.

Mahmudullah is much loved by Pakistanis but he’s an awfully average player

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Villas and Wiese lol they don't even get gigs in other leagues. These two shouldn't feature in next years PSL if that happens.

Dan Christian could have been decent had he given his name.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Even someone like Liam Plunkett would have been decent as wasn't Viljoen with Multan?

 

[MMHS]

Multan Sultans could have picked Shakib Al Hasan instead of Mahmudullah.

Shakib is out of touch for a year and probably hasn't started proper practicing yet - he was mostly in USA for last 10-12 months. Mahmuduallh actually is a very good T20 player at 6 - in last three years, he has a
T20 stats of 35/140 against top 8 sides and two MoTM awards; he is a very much like to like replacement for Multan, bowls a bit off-spin as well. It was a mistake to pick Tamim because LQ needs a WK and a hitter rather than accumulator - they picked Tamim for Lynn!!!

 

[Ahson8]

Shakib is out of touch for a year and probably hasn't started proper practicing yet - he was mostly in USA for last 10-12 months. Mahmuduallh actually is a very good T20 player at 6 - in last three years, he has a
T20 stats of 35/140 against top 8 sides and two MoTM awards; he is a very much like to like replacement for Multan, bowls a bit off-spin as well. It was a mistake to pick Tamim because LQ needs a WK and a hitter rather than accumulator - they picked Tamim for Lynn!!!

I think Tamim is a good pick for LQ, they have other aggressive options, so they can all attack around him.

Dunk is their wicketkeeper

 

[MMHS]

I think Tamim is a good pick for LQ, they have other aggressive options, so they can all attack around him.

Dunk is their wicketkeeper

What's going to be their starting XI:

1. Fakhar
2. Tamim^
3/4. Dunk^ (WK)
4/3. Mo Hafeez
5. Sohail Akhtar
6. Dane Vilas^ (WK)
7. Samit Patel^
8. Dilbar
9. Rauf
10. Shaheen
11. Shinwari

Pace bowling is good, but they'll struggle unless Dunk fires big time; and spin option is poor.

 

[Ahson8]

What's going to be their starting XI:

1. Fakhar
2. Tamim^
3/4. Dunk^ (WK)
4/3. Mo Hafeez
5. Sohail Akhtar
6. Dane Vilas^ (WK)
7. Samit Patel^
8. Dilbar
9. Rauf
10. Shaheen
11. Shinwari

Pace bowling is good, but they'll struggle unless Dunk fires big time; and spin option is poor.

Wiese will play over Vilas, otherwise pretty much that. Shinwari isn't that great in T20s, maybe they can play Agha Salman or one of Maaz / Farzan Raja if they want a 2nd spinner.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Bro it’s South Africa the new West Indies of Franchise cricket. Mercenaries will remain mercenaries

Mercenaries are not usually top tier talent. And South African mercenaries in most cases, are Kolpak players, the best of which we have already seen in the PSL. The likes of Rabada, Nortje, du Plessis, de Kock won't be among them.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Tamim is okay. He can play a long innings but he is not a quick scorer. Liton Das might actually have been a slightly better pick.

I'm appreciative of whoever comes to PSL but yes i can see your point as a hitter. I'm thinking more of the left-right combo if Sohail decides to open and besides Tamim is quite good against our bowlers. We'll see.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

A bit stupid if that’s the case. Franchise owners might be a bit tentative with the negative image of the player.

Mahmudullah is much loved by Pakistanis but he’s an awfully average player

I think PSL (as a league) has broken the ceiling on player reputations with the inclusions of Sharjeel and Butt.

He might have been unavailable. Otherwise it makes no sense not to get Shakib, a like for like and even better replacement for Moeen Ali.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I'm appreciative of whoever comes to PSL but yes i can see your point as a hitter. I'm thinking more of the left-right combo if Sohail decides to open and besides Tamim is quite good against our bowlers. We'll see.

Personally, I don't think left/right combo matters that much in T20s. Besides Fakhar is more likely to open with Tamim.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Shakib is out of touch for a year and probably hasn't started proper practicing yet - he was mostly in USA for last 10-12 months. Mahmuduallh actually is a very good T20 player at 6 - in last three years, he has a
T20 stats of 35/140 against top 8 sides and two MoTM awards; he is a very much like to like replacement for Multan, bowls a bit off-spin as well. It was a mistake to pick Tamim because LQ needs a WK and a hitter rather than accumulator - they picked Tamim for Lynn!!!

Yes surprising pick. LQ could have gotten more creative. There is a dearth of T20 hitting talent out there in BBL, Vitality Blast; players who would have been available as well. Even Liton Das would have been a slightly better pick than Tamim if they were picking someone from Bangladesh.

Lack of research on their part.

 

[Sami92]

Tamim is a consistent well rounded player in T20 averaging 31 @ 119 SR (should work on it) in 206 matches with 3 centuries including a match winning 100 in a BPL final. His past PSL experience helped too I reckon in getting selected this season.

Litton is an up and coming player. But I feel he still needs a bit more consistency in T20s. In 100 T20s, he averages 21, 10 50s, no 100 but a good SR of 128.

Shakib is out of touch for a year and probably hasn't started proper practicing yet - he was mostly in USA for last 10-12 months. Mahmuduallh actually is a very good T20 player at 6 - in last three years, he has a
T20 stats of 35/140 against top 8 sides and two MoTM awards; he is a very much like to like replacement for Multan, bowls a bit off-spin as well. It was a mistake to pick Tamim because LQ needs a WK and a hitter rather than accumulator - they picked Tamim for Lynn!!!

Mahmudullah is a fine player. But still I would be tempted to get even an out of practice Shakib if available. Shakib is a big name & player and a seasoned pro.

 

[Titan24]

Great that almost all the players joining their teams back for the playoffs. Also nice addition of Faf Duplesis for PZ. Good to see Tamim back as well as Mahamdullah back in PSL too.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Quality of bowling in these line-ups is seriously high level. One of the reasons why PSL is so popular these days and growing further. The bowling is definitely at another level compared to BBL, IPL