Local players and especially the emerging ones is where franchises actually win or lose the title which makes their selection extremely important. Shadab Khan turned up for Islamabad United last season and, within 9 months, has already established himself as a starter for Pakistan. Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari and Hassan Ali have all made their mark as emerging players and, apart from the greater good of Pakistan cricket, won their franchises games. With the draft fast approaching, it is important for franchises to identify key areas that need strengthening and how many of those roles could be occupied by emerging players. Here are some players I feel should be selected, keeping in mind the value they could add to both their franchises and, eventually, Pakistan.
Islamabad United
Hussain Talat (Retained)
Zeeshan Malik
Mohammad Mohsin
Hussain Talat is most likely to be retained as the emerging player for Islamabad with Ammad and Shadab already retained in higher categories. Promising batsman, must be slotted at No. 3 for the entire season and results will come. Zeeshan should have played PSL by now, but keeping him out this season seems inevitable. Riding on the back of back-to-back centuries during Islamabad's TCT and then another one during Lahore's PDP. Mohsin is a relatively unknown name, but he performed exceptionally well during the TCT. Won best all-rounder, scored a century in the final for Saidpur Shikaris. Really fluent strokeplay and strong enough to clear the boundary. Catch a glimpse here:
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Saidpur Shikaris are hunting down anything that comes their way! <br><br>Our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TCT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCT</a> star of the day is M. Mohsin!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnitedWeWin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UnitedWeWin</a> <a href="https://t.co/CX0jrO28Za">pic.twitter.com/CX0jrO28Za</a></p>— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited/status/906559148082515969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Quetta Gladiators
Hassan Khan (Retained)
Danish Aziz
Ghulam Mudassar
Quetta persisted with Hassan Khan throughout the season and proved his worth in all three departments. Unlike other franchises, Quetta tend to keep their search really low-key and persist with players who play and perform for their club and Omar Associates. Danish Aziz and Ghulam Mudassar have both been involved with Omar Associates during Grade II and Ramzan tournaments. Suspecting that Ghulam will be released by Lahore, he could be a good pick for Quetta given their lack of pacers in the squad. Danish provides them with a SLA spin option that Sarfraz prefers and is a more capable batsman than Nawaz.
Karachi Kings
Ammad Alam (Retained)
Omair Yousuf
Fahaddis Bokhari
Of all the regions in Pakistan, Karachi has the biggest talent pool. Ammad Alam has been part of the squad for the past two years and should definitely get the nood this year. Another all-rounder, provides the team with good off-spin option and was among the top-scorers in Karachi's tournament. Fahaddis Bokhari was the best all-rounder of the tournament, batted at an exceptionally high strike-rate and won the tournament for his team. Omair Yousuf is one of the brightest batting prospects in Pakistan at the moment and has been piling the runs on in the U19 circuit. With Karachi having no regular opener in the squad apart from Khurram Manzoor, Omair Yousuf could come in and cement his place. Catch a glimpse here:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IOO-zlXybRQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lahore Qalandars
Saif Badar (Retained)
Haris Rauf
Sikander Khan
Badar has been hot and cold since his breakout performances in the U19 World Cup, but he has shown glimpses of what he is capable of as an all-rounder. Haris, despite being a rookie, looked really impressive on the tour to Australia. Not a finished product by any means, but with Shoaib Akhtar, Kyle Mills and Aqib Javed working with him, his growth could be fast-paced. Sikander was the highest run-scorer in 3 out of the 4 matches Lahore played in Australia, scored two back-to-back fifties and two impressive knocks of 30. With Lahore thin on batting, especially local players, both Sikander and Badar could add value to a struggling middle-order.
Peshawar Zalmi
Khushdil Shah (Retained)
Nabi Gul
Shaheen Shah
Khushdil Shah did feature in a few games last season, but could not capitalize on the opportunity. However, he is a promising batsman and, for the past two years, has been carrying the FATA squad. Adds value with the ball and can be groomed into a good batsman. Nabi Gul was part of the Zalmi squad that traveled to the Emirates T20 Cup and scored an impressive fifty against Durham, was part of the Khyber squad in this year's Pakistan Cup and impressed again with a fifty. Capable hitter and exactly the type of player you would want in your lower middle-order. Shaheen Shah has taken the cricketing world by storm and with Junaid released, Shaheen could easily fill that void in the squad.
Multan Sultans
Sahibzada Farhan
Ahmed Bashir
Kamran Ghulam
Sahibzada Farhan has emerged as a front-runner for a national spot in no time and there would be no better place for him to start than the upcoming edition of PSL. Not a power hitter, but aggressive strokeplay and mentality are his strong points. Ahmed Bashir's a really promising pacer and most recently put in a few good performances for KRL in the QeA Trophy (The Vehari-Multan connection is too good to ignore). Kamran Ghulam should have been a regular by now, but shame how he has been neglected for so long. Players like Kamran Ghulam can single-handedly win games for their team. Exceptional fielder, more than handy with the ball and proper batsman.
I do prefer players playing for their respective regions (Zeeshan for Islamabad, Khushdil for Peshawar etc.) as it can be another motivating factor. Lots of capable players who could be added to these lists, would love to know who you guys think should make the cut and for which franchise. At the end of the day, this is what the tournament is all about. Other players I feel should definitely be in contention include
Islamabad United
Hussain Talat (Retained)
Zeeshan Malik
Mohammad Mohsin
Hussain Talat is most likely to be retained as the emerging player for Islamabad with Ammad and Shadab already retained in higher categories. Promising batsman, must be slotted at No. 3 for the entire season and results will come. Zeeshan should have played PSL by now, but keeping him out this season seems inevitable. Riding on the back of back-to-back centuries during Islamabad's TCT and then another one during Lahore's PDP. Mohsin is a relatively unknown name, but he performed exceptionally well during the TCT. Won best all-rounder, scored a century in the final for Saidpur Shikaris. Really fluent strokeplay and strong enough to clear the boundary. Catch a glimpse here:
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Saidpur Shikaris are hunting down anything that comes their way! <br><br>Our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TCT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCT</a> star of the day is M. Mohsin!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnitedWeWin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UnitedWeWin</a> <a href="https://t.co/CX0jrO28Za">pic.twitter.com/CX0jrO28Za</a></p>— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited/status/906559148082515969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Quetta Gladiators
Hassan Khan (Retained)
Danish Aziz
Ghulam Mudassar
Quetta persisted with Hassan Khan throughout the season and proved his worth in all three departments. Unlike other franchises, Quetta tend to keep their search really low-key and persist with players who play and perform for their club and Omar Associates. Danish Aziz and Ghulam Mudassar have both been involved with Omar Associates during Grade II and Ramzan tournaments. Suspecting that Ghulam will be released by Lahore, he could be a good pick for Quetta given their lack of pacers in the squad. Danish provides them with a SLA spin option that Sarfraz prefers and is a more capable batsman than Nawaz.
Karachi Kings
Ammad Alam (Retained)
Omair Yousuf
Fahaddis Bokhari
Of all the regions in Pakistan, Karachi has the biggest talent pool. Ammad Alam has been part of the squad for the past two years and should definitely get the nood this year. Another all-rounder, provides the team with good off-spin option and was among the top-scorers in Karachi's tournament. Fahaddis Bokhari was the best all-rounder of the tournament, batted at an exceptionally high strike-rate and won the tournament for his team. Omair Yousuf is one of the brightest batting prospects in Pakistan at the moment and has been piling the runs on in the U19 circuit. With Karachi having no regular opener in the squad apart from Khurram Manzoor, Omair Yousuf could come in and cement his place. Catch a glimpse here:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IOO-zlXybRQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lahore Qalandars
Saif Badar (Retained)
Haris Rauf
Sikander Khan
Badar has been hot and cold since his breakout performances in the U19 World Cup, but he has shown glimpses of what he is capable of as an all-rounder. Haris, despite being a rookie, looked really impressive on the tour to Australia. Not a finished product by any means, but with Shoaib Akhtar, Kyle Mills and Aqib Javed working with him, his growth could be fast-paced. Sikander was the highest run-scorer in 3 out of the 4 matches Lahore played in Australia, scored two back-to-back fifties and two impressive knocks of 30. With Lahore thin on batting, especially local players, both Sikander and Badar could add value to a struggling middle-order.
Peshawar Zalmi
Khushdil Shah (Retained)
Nabi Gul
Shaheen Shah
Khushdil Shah did feature in a few games last season, but could not capitalize on the opportunity. However, he is a promising batsman and, for the past two years, has been carrying the FATA squad. Adds value with the ball and can be groomed into a good batsman. Nabi Gul was part of the Zalmi squad that traveled to the Emirates T20 Cup and scored an impressive fifty against Durham, was part of the Khyber squad in this year's Pakistan Cup and impressed again with a fifty. Capable hitter and exactly the type of player you would want in your lower middle-order. Shaheen Shah has taken the cricketing world by storm and with Junaid released, Shaheen could easily fill that void in the squad.
Multan Sultans
Sahibzada Farhan
Ahmed Bashir
Kamran Ghulam
Sahibzada Farhan has emerged as a front-runner for a national spot in no time and there would be no better place for him to start than the upcoming edition of PSL. Not a power hitter, but aggressive strokeplay and mentality are his strong points. Ahmed Bashir's a really promising pacer and most recently put in a few good performances for KRL in the QeA Trophy (The Vehari-Multan connection is too good to ignore). Kamran Ghulam should have been a regular by now, but shame how he has been neglected for so long. Players like Kamran Ghulam can single-handedly win games for their team. Exceptional fielder, more than handy with the ball and proper batsman.
I do prefer players playing for their respective regions (Zeeshan for Islamabad, Khushdil for Peshawar etc.) as it can be another motivating factor. Lots of capable players who could be added to these lists, would love to know who you guys think should make the cut and for which franchise. At the end of the day, this is what the tournament is all about. Other players I feel should definitely be in contention include
- Aashir Qureshi
- Sajawal Riaz
- Umair Masood (already part of Zalmi)
- Sameen Gul
- Ahmed Safi Abdullah
- Hassan Mohsin
- Imam Ul Haq
- Asad Raza
- Ashiq Ali
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