The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 draft phase is edging closer and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the first pick order.
The order was determined through a ‘pugam pugai’ method, which is extremely popular in street cricket.
“The cricket bat pick order method is often used for determining the batting turns in single-wicket cricket across Pakistan. It also works as an alternative to the coin-toss to start a match. The cricket bat pick order method has become an integral part of Pakistan cricket folklore and is commonly used across the country in hundreds and thousands of tennis and tape-ball cricket matches each day of the week,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stated on its website.
Previously, this was the breakdown of player selection during the draft phase:
- One player each from:
- Platinum: $140,000–230,000
- Diamond: Minimum price of US$70,000–85,000
- Gold: $50,000–60,000
- Two players each from:
- Silver: $22,000–33,000
- Emerging: $10,000–12,000
However, this year, things are expected to be slightly different as PCB has reportedly decided to reduce the squad limit to 18 players from 21. This will mean that the count will be revised for picks from each category.
Speaking about the first picks in Platinum category: PSL 2019 champions, Quetta Gladiators, will have the first pick in the draft whereas Lahore Qalandars will go second.
Shoaib Malik’s Multan Sultans will have the third pick followed by Islamabad, Peshawar, and Karachi.
The order is as follows:
- Quetta Gladiators
- Lahore Qalandars
- Multan Sultans
- Islamabad United
- Peshawar Zalmi
- Karachi Kings
A press release from PCB read: “…a specially-designed statistical model will be used to decide the pick order for the remaining 17 rounds of the Draft. This order will be generated and released on Monday, 4 November.”
As part of this year’s Draft policy, each team can retain up to eight players before the Draft.
