Pakistan Super League (PSL) announces player retentions for the 2022 season

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will return for its seventh season, starting on January 27, 2022.

Mohammad Rizwan led the Multan Sultans to their first PSL title in the previous edition of the tournament. The defending champions will get the tournament underway in a titanic clash against the 2020 champions, Karachi Kings. The first 15 games of the tournament will be played in Karachi, while the rest of the tournament will be played in Lahore.

A total of 34 games will be played this season. The top four teams in the league stages will qualify for the playoffs of the tournament.

The deadline for player trades for PSL 2022 was closed on Thursday (9th December). Meanwhile, the player retention deadline was also closed on Friday (10th December).

Each team was allowed a maximum of eight retentions, divided into categories of Diamond, Platinum, Gold, and Silver. Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators were the only two sides who did not utilize their full quota of retentions. As per the rules, each franchise can have a maximum of 18 players in their squad.

The defending champions, Sultans retained Mohammad Rizwan and Rilee Rossouw in the Platinum category, while Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Imad Wasim were retained in the same category for the Kings.

The 2017 champions, Peshawar Zalmi retained Liam Livingstone and Wahab Riaz as Platinum retentions. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and Pakistan ace bowler Shaheen Afridi were retained by the Qalandars in the Platinum category.

Rounding up the other two sides, Islamabad United retained Hasan Ali and promoted Asif Ali to be their two Platinum players. Meanwhile, the Gladiators, who had a productive trade window, retained Sarfaraz Ahmed and added James Vince to their list of Platinum players.

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List of all the player retentions for PSL 2022 season

Islamabad United - Asif Ali, Hasan Ali (both Platinum), Faheem Ashraf (Diamond), Shadab Khan (Diamond, Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (Gold, Mentor), Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (both Gold), and Paul Stirling (Silver).

Karachi Kings - Babar Azam, Imad Wasim (both Platinum), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nabi (both Diamond), Joe Clarke (Gold, Brand Ambassador), Aamir Yamin, Sharjeel Khan (both Gold), and Mohammad Ilyas (Silver).

Lahore Qalandars - Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (both Platinum), Haris Rauf (Diamond, Brand Ambassador), David Wiese, Mohammad Hafeez (both Diamond), Ahmed Daniyal, Sohail Akhtar, and Zeeshan Ashraf (all Silver).

Peshawar Zalmi - Liam Livingstone, Wahab Riaz (both Platinum), Haider Ali, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik (all Diamond), Hussain Talat (Gold), Saqib Mahmood (Gold, Brand Ambassador), and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Silver).

Multan Sultans - Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (both Platinum), Imran Tahir (Diamond, Mentor), Sohaib Maqsood (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold, Brand Ambassador), Shahnawaz Dahani, and Shan Masood (both Gold).

Quetta Gladiators - James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed (both Platinum), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz (both Diamond), Shahid Afridi (Gold, Mentor), Mohammad Hasnain (Gold, Brand Ambassador), and Naseem Shah (Gold).

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For the first time in the PSL, right-to-match (RTM) cards have been introduced, allowing PSL franchises to buy back a maximum of one player that they have released at the draft, which will be held on December 12.

The seventh edition of PSL will begin on January 27 and the final will be played on February 27 in Lahore.