Despite his poor Asia Cup run, Fakhar Zaman promoted to platinum class in PSL

Pakistan might have struggled in the just concluded Asia Cup, earning brickbats from their fans and former cricketers but there is little sign that their players have lost popularity when it comes to the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Many young players have been promoted to the platinum category by the country’s cricket board ahead of the fourth edition of the tournament scheduled next year, one of them is Fakhar Zaman.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on September 29 announced the new category list, marking the beginning of retention and transfer window for the teams ahead of the next edition, reported Geo TV. As per PCB’s list, of all the players who have already made contracts with different franchises, the likes of Misbah ul Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Shahid Afridi, Shadab Khan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik, and others are included in the top category.

Zaman, who had a poor run in Asia Cup with 56 runs in five matches, and Azam were previously in the diamond category while Shadab and Hasan Ali have been promoted from the gold category. Mohammad Irfan is another player who has been given a promotion from the diamond to the platinum category.

Umar Akmal demoted

On the other hand, out-of-form Umar Akmal was relegated to gold from platinum category.

A squad of 16 players will have three members each from the platinum, diamond and gold categories; five from silver category and two from emerging players’ category. Since the draft’s date is yet to be finalised, the teams are now open for retention and transfer in the run-up to the draft’s day. Each franchise can retain up to 10 players.

The fourth edition of the PSL will take place between February 14 and March 17 and feature six sides. The tournament will kick off in the United Arab Emirates but the last eight matches, including the final, will be played in Pakistan. While Islamabad United won the tournament twice, Peshawar Zalmi won the title once.

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