# 2021 Pakistan Super League players draft

The player draft for the sixth edition of the 2021 Pakistan Super League took place on 10 January 2021. 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.

## Background

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. Before the draft, the PCB announced the renewal categories for all Pakistani players who played in the previous season. Soon after, the list of overseas players was released. 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.

## Transfer and trade

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.

## Retained players

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.
| Class | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators |
| Platinum | Shadab Khan Alex Hales | Babar Azam Mohammad Amir Colin Ingram | Mohammad Hafeez Shaheen Afridi | Shahid Afridi Rilee Rossouw | Wahab Riaz Shoaib Malik | Sarfaraz Ahmed |
| Diamond | Colin Munro Faheem Ashraf | Imad Wasim | Fakhar Zaman (ambassador) David Wiese Haris Rauf | Sohail Tanvir (ambassador) Imran Tahir (mentor) Khushdil Shah | Kamran Akmal | Ben Cutting Mohammad Hasnain Mohammad Nawaz |
| Gold | Hussain Talat (ambassador) Asif Ali | Aamer Yamin Sharjeel Khan | Ben Dunk Dilbar Hussain | James Vince Shan Masood Usman Qadir | Liam Livingstone Haider Ali | Azam Khan Naseem Shah |
| Silver | Muhammad Musa Zafar Gohar | Waqas Maqsood (ambassador) | Sohail Akhtar | | | Zahid Mahmood (ambassador) Anwar Ali |
| Emerging | | Arshad Iqbal | | | | |

## Draft picks

The draft took place on 10 January and over 400 players from 20 different countries registered. Islamabad United, the two-time champions, got the first pick in the opening round of the draft choosing wildcard Hasan Ali. Islamabad United were followed by Multan Sultans (second), Lahore Qalandars (third), Peshawar Zalmi (fourth), Quetta Gladiators (fifth) and Karachi Kings (sixth). After the draft, Shoaib Malik was involved in a car crash. He was said to be "perfectly all right". The category salaries were as follows:
* Platinum: US$130,000-US$170,000
* Diamond: US$60,000-US$85,000
* Gold: US$40,000-US$50,000
* Silver: US$15,000-US$25,000
* Emerging: US$7,500
* Supplementary: US$50,000
| Class | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators |
| Platinum | Hasan Ali | | Rashid Khan | Chris Lynn | David Miller | Chris Gayle Tom Banton |
| Diamond | Lewis Gregory | Mohammad Nabi Dan Christian | | | Mujeeb Ur Rahman Sherfane Rutherford | |
| Gold | Phil Salt | Chadwick Walton Joe Clarke | Samit Patel | | Amad Butt | Usman Shinwari |
| Silver | Rohail Nazir Reece Topley Iftikhar Ahmed | Danish Aziz Mohammad Ilyas Zeeshan Malik | Tom Abell Zeeshan Ashraf Agha Salman Muhammad Faizan | Sohail Khan Mohammad Rizwan Sohaib Maqsood Sohaibullah Adam Lyth | Umaid Asif Saqib Mahmood Imam-ul-Haq Mohammad Imran Mohammad Irfan | Cameron Delport Qais Ahmad Abdul Nasir |
| Emerging | Mohammad Wasim Ahmed Safi Abdullah | Qasim Akram | Maaz Khan Muhammad Zaid | Shahnawaz Dahani Mohammad Umar | Abrar Ahmed Mohammad Imran | Saim Ayub Arish Ali Khan |
| Supplementary | Chris Jordan Akif Javed | Noor Ahmad Abbas Afridi | Joe Denly Ahmed Daniyal | Imran Khan Carlos Brathwaite | Ravi Bopara Mohammad Amir Khan | Dale Steyn Usman Khan |
Source:

## Replacements

Following players were replaced in PSL replacement draft.
| 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 | Unavailable for full competition due to national duties |
| Liam Livingstone (gold) | Peshawar Zalmi | Tom Kohler-Cadmore | Unavailable for full competition due to national duties |
| Chris Gayle (platinum) | Quetta Gladiators | Faf du Plessis | Unavailable partially due to national duties |
| Rashid Khan (platinum) | Lahore Qalandars | Sandeep Lamichhane | Unavailable partially due to national duties |
| 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 | Unavailable for full competition due to injury |
| David Miller (platinum) | Peshawar Zalmi | Waqar Salamkheil | Unavailable partially due to domestic duties |

## Replacement Draft

In April 2021, the replacement draft for the postponed 2021 PSL took place.
| Class | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators |
| Platinum | Usman Khawaja | Martin Guptill | Shakib Al Hasan | Mahmudullah | | Andre Russell |
| Diamond | Colin Munro | Thisara Perera Najibullah Zadran | James Faulkner | | Fabian Allen | |
| Gold | Janneman Malan | | Joe Burns | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Rovman Powell | |
| Silver | | Liton Das | Callum Ferguson | George Linde | Fidel Edwards | |
| Supplementary | | | Seekkuge Prasanna | Obed McCoy | | |

## Mini Replacement Draft

After the 2021 PSL was once again postponed from May to June 2021, there was a Mini Replacement Draft.
| 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 | Unavailable for full competition due to duties |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Lahore Qalandars | Rashid Khan | Unavailable for full competition due to duties |
| Liton Das | Karachi Kings | Mohammad Haris | Unavailable for full competition due to duties |
| Obed McCoy | Multan Sultans | Blessing Muzarabani | Unavailable for full competition due to duties |
| 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 |

## Replacement after partially

| Player | Team | Replacement | Notes |
| David Miller | Peshawar Zalmi | Hazratullah Zazai | Unavailable partially due to national team duties |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Multan Sultans | Johnson Charles | Unavailable partially due to national team duties |
| Fabian Allen | Peshawar Zalmi | Khalid Usman | Unavailable partially due to national team duties |
| Fidel Edwards | Peshawar Zalmi | Sameen Gul | Unavailable partially due to national team duties |
| Andre Russell | Quetta Gladiators | Zahoor Khan | Ruled out due to injury |