The player draft for the sixth edition of the 2021 Pakistan Super League took place on 10 January 2021.[1] Before the draft, the teams were allowed to retain a maximum of 8 players and make any transfers that they saw necessary. More than 400 players from over 20 different countries featured at the draft. From these players, the teams each selected 16 players along with 2 extra supplementary players to complete their 18-man squads. The draft was completed one month before the main tournament the 2021 Pakistan Super League (2021 PSL) started, in late February. Due to the suspension of the tournament because of COVID-19, a replacement draft was held.[2]
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the two-time champions Islamabad United would have the first pick, this was decided by a random draw.[3] Before the draft, the PCB announced the renewal categories for all Pakistani players who played in the previous season.[4] [5] Soon after, the list of overseas players was released.[6] Luke Ronchi was released from Islamabad United squad as he was announced as unable to participate due to his new role as New Zealand batting coach.[7]
On 9 January 2021, Alex Hales was announced as transferring from Karachi Kings to Islamabad United in exchange of Colin Ingram, who went the other way.[8]
On 9 January 2021, the PCB announced the retention players list. All the teams were allowed to retain a maximum of 8 players from the previous season.[8] [9]
| Class | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | |||||||
| Diamond |
|
| |||||
| Gold |
| ||||||
| Silver |
|
| |||||
| Emerging |
The draft took place on 10 January and over 400 players from 20 different countries registered.[10] Islamabad United, the two-time champions, got the first pick in the opening round of the draft choosing wildcard Hasan Ali.[11] Islamabad United were followed by Multan Sultans (second), Lahore Qalandars (third), Peshawar Zalmi (fourth), Quetta Gladiators (fifth) and Karachi Kings (sixth).[12] After the draft, Shoaib Malik was involved in a car crash. He was said to be "perfectly all right".[13] The category salaries were as follows:[14]
| Class | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | ||||||
| Diamond | ||||||
| Gold | ||||||
| Silver | ||||||
| Emerging |
| |||||
| Supplementary | ||||||
Following players were replaced in PSL replacement draft.[15]
| Player | Team | Replaced with | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Munro (diamond) | Islamabad United | Fawad Ahmed | Unavailable for full competition due to quarantine issues | |
| Chris Jordan (supplementary) | Islamabad United | Paul Stirling | Unavailable for full competition due to national duties | |
| Reece Topley (silver) | Islamabad United | Ali Khan | ||
| Liam Livingstone (gold) | Peshawar Zalmi | Tom Kohler-Cadmore | ||
| Chris Gayle (platinum) | Quetta Gladiators | Faf du Plessis | Unavailable partially due to national duties | |
| Rashid Khan (platinum) | Lahore Qalandars | Sandeep Lamichhane | ||
| Dale Steyn (supplementary) | Quetta Gladiators | Hasan Khan | Unavailable partially for personal reasons | |
| Akif Javed (supplementary) | Islamabad United | Zeeshan Zameer | Unavailable for full competition due to injury | |
| Dilbar Hussain (gold) | Lahore Qalandars | Salman Mirza | ||
| David Miller (platinum) | Peshawar Zalmi | Waqar Salamkheil | Unavailable partially due to domestic duties |
In April 2021, the replacement draft for the postponed 2021 PSL took place.[16]
| Class | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Andre Russell | ||||||
| Diamond | |||||||
| Gold | |||||||
| Silver | |||||||
| Supplementary |
After the 2021 PSL was once again postponed from May to June 2021, there was a Mini Replacement Draft.[17]
| Player | Team | Replacement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Cutting | Quetta Gladiators | Zahir Khan | Unavailable for full competition due to quarantine issues | |
| Mahmudullah Riyad | Multan Sultans | Shimron Hetmyer | Unavailable for full competition due to duties | |
| Janneman Malan | Islamabad United | Brandon King | ||
| Shakib Al Hasan | Lahore Qalandars | Rashid Khan | ||
| Liton Das | Karachi Kings | Mohammad Haris | ||
| Obed McCoy | Multan Sultans | Blessing Muzarabani | ||
| Joe Burns | Lahore Qalandars | Tim David | Unavailable for full competition due to others reason | |
| Shahid Afridi | Multan Sultans | Asif Afridi | Ruled out due to injury |
| Player | Team | Replacement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Miller | Peshawar Zalmi | Hazratullah Zazai | Unavailable partially due to national team duties | |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Multan Sultans | Johnson Charles | ||
| Fabian Allen | Peshawar Zalmi | Khalid Usman | ||
| Fidel Edwards | Peshawar Zalmi | Sameen Gul | ||
| Andre Russell | Quetta Gladiators | Zahoor Khan | Ruled out due to injury |
/[18]