The six Pakistan Junior League teams selected some of the most prominent U19 stars from Pakistan and around the world at the player draft held in Lahore on 8 September.
A total of 66 Pakistani and 24 foreign cricketers were picked by the coaches of Bahawalpur Royals, Gujranwala Giants, Gwadar Sharks, Hyderabad Hunters, Mardan Warriors, and Rawalpindi Raiders.
As part of the draft regulations, each of the six squads comprises 15 players. The teams picked four players in Elite, five in Premier, and six in X-factor categories.
Besides Pakistan, players from a total of nine cricket boards would have representation at the PJL which will run from 6 October to 21 October at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Nineteen matches (including playoffs and final) will be played in the single-league format tournament.
Star performers of the national U19 circuit (2022-23); Obaid Shahid, Uzair Mumtaz, Muhammad Ismail, Saad Baig, Abbas Ali, and Habibullah were named captains of Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gwadar, Hyderabad, Mardan, and Rawalpindi respectively.
The players will join their respective sides when the event’s support period begins in the last week of September. The foreign players are expected to reach Lahore a week or so before the start of the tournament.
The six squads with their present support staff are available below, the PCB will confirm the remaining support staff appointments in due course.
Here are the squads:
Bahawalpur Royals Squad
Support staff: Imran Tahir (mentor), Gordon Parsons (head coach), Imran Farhat (batting coach)
| Elite Category | Premier Category | X-Factor Category |
| Obaid Shahid (captain) | Ali Razzaq | Ahmed Hussain |
| Arham Nawab (vice-captain) | Basit Ali | Farhan Yousaf |
| Nathan Edwards (West Indies) | Mohammad Zeeshan | Gabriel Gallman-Findlay (Scotland) |
| Sajjad Ali | Nangeyalia Kharotai (Afghanistan) | Mohammad Danish |
| Rehan Ahmed (England) | Mohammad Tayyab Arif | |
| Shahwaiz Irfan |
Gujranwala Giants Squad
Support staff: Shoaib Malik (mentor), Ijaz Ahmed Snr (head coach), Aizaz Cheema (bowling coach)
| Elite Category | Premier Category | X-Factor Category |
| Uzair Mumtaz (captain) | Ariful Islam (Bangladesh) | Hamza Nawaz |
| Ali Asfand | Hasnain Majid | Hasan Ali Jnr |
| Azan Awais | Mohammad Ibtisam | Matthew Tromp (USA) |
| Tom Aspinwall (England) | Mohammad Shan | Mohammad Aqib Asghar |
| Shevon Daniel (Sri Lanka) | Mohammad Waqas | |
| Saqlain Nawaz |
Gwadar Sharks Squad
Support staff: Vivian Richards (mentor), Mushtaq Ahmed (head coach), Kamran Khan (batting coach)
| Elite Category | Premier Category | X-Factor Category |
| Mohammad Ismail (captain) | Arafat Minhas | Adnan Iqbal |
| Danial Ibrahim (England) | Luc Martin Benkenstein (England) | Aftab Ahmed |
| Haseeb Nazim | Mohammad Shoaib | Kushal Malla (Nepal) |
| Joseph Eckland (England) | Saad Masood | Mohammad Abu Bakar |
| Shamyl Hussain | Momin Qamar | |
| Muhammad Zulkifal |
Hyderabad Hunters Squad
Support staff: Daren Sammy (mentor), Abdul Razzaq (head coach), Ghulam Ali (batting coach)
| Elite Category | Premier Category | X-Factor Category |
| Saad Baig (captain) | Arbaz Khan | Ali Naseer (UAE) |
| Afaq Khan | Haseeb-ur-Rehman | Fahad Amin |
| Aftab Ibrahim | James Ross Wood (England) | Hassan Iqbal |
| Isai Thorne (West Indies) | Lahiru Dawatage (Sri Lanka) | Moeez Rana |
| Muneeb Wasif | Mohammad Zubair Jnr | |
| Salman Ahmed |
Mardan Warriors Squad
Support staff: Shahid Afridi (mentor), Abdur Rehman (head coach), Mohammad Sami (bowling coach)
| Elite Category | Premier Category | X-Factor Category |
| Abbas Ali (captain) | Daud Nazar | Aimal Khan |
| Abidullah | Haseeb Khan | Burhan Niaz (Belgium) |
| Archie Lenham (England) | Mohammad Farooq | Mohammad Irfan |
| George Thomas (England) | Muhammad Nabeel | Shahzaib Khan |
| Olly Cox (England) | Syed Tayyab Hussain | |
| Zohaib Khan Shanzaib |
Rawalpindi Raiders Squad
Support staff: Colin Munro (mentor), Toby Radford (head coach), Mohammad Masroor (batting coach)
| Elite Category | Premier Category | X-Factor Category |
| Habibullah (captain) | Ali Raza | Charlie Tear (Scotland) |
| Afnan Khan | Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (Afghanistan) | Haroon Arshad |
| Ali Ishaq | Amir Hassan | Naveed Ahmed Khan |
| Hassan Eisakhil (Afghanistan) | Aseer Mughal | Usman Khan |
| Kai Smith (England) | Wahaj Riaz | |
| Ziaullah |
