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The Pakistan Super League is set to begin in February, which will be the fourth edition of the tournament. Six teams play each other twice in a double round robin format and the matches are scheduled to take place in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi for most of the tournament as only the last 8 matches are scheduled to happen in Karachi and Lahore.
Islamabad United are the defending Champions. The other five teams are Lahore Qalandars, Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi and the Multan Sultans. The squads have been finalized after a draft which took place on 20 November 2018 and few of the notable picks were AB De Villiers(Lahore), Ian Bell(Islamabad), Sikandar Raza(Karachi), Kieron Pollard(Peshawar), Dwayne Bravo(Quetta) and Shahid Afridi(Multan).
Without much ado, let's take a look at the one key player from each franchise this season.
#1 Islamabad United - Luke Ronchi
The Islamabad skipper will be their key player this tournament. They retained their core from last season and have made some buys for the 2019 campaign.
Ronchi, who starred with the bat last season, will look to do the same this season. He was brilliant at the top of the order and scored 435 runs in 11 matches last season. He scored at a whopping strike rate of 182 and won five Man of the Match awards.
While leg spinner Shadab Khan and players like Cameron Delport, Faheem Ashraf, Rumman Raess, and Asif Ali are important players, Ronchi's presence is something which they can't replace.
Squad: Luke Ronchi, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Hussain Talat, Waqas Maqsood, Sahibzada Farhan, Zafar Gohar, Ian Bell, Samit Patel, Phil Salt, Cameron Delport, Mohammad Musa, Nasir Nawaz, Wayne Parnell, Zahir Khan, Amad Butt, and Rizwan Hussain.
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#2 Quetta Gladiators - Sunil Narine
The Quetta Gladiators can certainly expect a better season as they have rebooted their squad with some fresh recruits. They have brought in Dwayne Bravo, Ahmed Shehzad, and the Caribbean all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. More importantly, they traded with the Lahore Qalandars and brought in Umar Akmal and Sunil Narine.
Sunil Narine is one of the best all-rounders in the world, especially in the T20 format. Primarily an off-spinner, Sunil Narine has converted himself into a pinch-hitting opener in the past few years.
More importantly, his bowling has never been better. Despite curbing some of that 'mystery' after changing his bowling action, Narine has been tight and accurate. On familiar wickets in Dubai, Narine can work wonders for the Gladiators and in this star-studded squad, he stands out.
Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Sunil Narine, Umar Akmal, Shane Watson, Mohammad Nawaz, Rilee Rossouw, Anwar Ali, Saud Shakeel, Dwayne Bravo, Fawad Ahmed, Mohammad Asghar, Danish Aziz, Ahsan Ali, Ghulam Mudassar, Naseem Shah, Harry Gurney, Ahmed Shehzad, Azam Khan, and Jalat Khan.
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#3 Karachi Kings - Babar Azam
The World No.1 T20I batsman in the world is Karachi Kings' key player in PSL 2019. He was one among the eight players retained by the team, which also includes overseas stars Colin Munro and Colin Ingram.
Babar Azam is a steady batsman one can rely on to deliver big innings, if not at an eye-catching strike rate. He plays the anchoring role but scores at a fair pace as well and is a true run machine.
He is the tournament's second highest run scorer (708 runs) and the team's highest run-getter last season. He scored 402 runs in 11 innings at an average of 40.20, which included five brilliant fifties.
Squad: Imad Wasim (c), Colin Munro, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Colin Ingram, Usman Khan Shinwari, Mohammad Rizwan, Ravi Bopara, Sikandar Raza, Awais Zia, Usama Mir, Aaron Summers, Sohail Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ali Imran, Abrar Ahmed, Aamer Yamin, Ben Dunk, Liam Livingstone, and Jaahid Ali.
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#4 Lahore Qalandars - AB De Villiers
The Lahore Qalandars who finished last in the previous season got the first pick in the draft and picked up the stalwart, AB De Villiers. They now look the most impressive squad in PSL 2019. AB de Villiers is easily their key player this season. They also bought Mohammad Hafeez while they retained Fakhar Zaman, Anton Devcich and Yasir Shah.
AB de Villiers is a great T20 batsman and a proven match winner. He can single-handedly destroy bowling attacks and possess the abilities to take the game away from opponents in the blink of an eye.
With no international pressure on him, he can enjoy his cricket even more. One of the most devastating and consistent batsman in all formats, his T20 records speak for itself and he will be their key player.
Squad: Hasan Khan, Rahat Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Anton Devcich, Agha Salman, Sohail Akhtar, AB de Villiers, Mohammad Hafeez (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Corey Anderson, Sandeep Lamichhane, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Imran, Umair Masood, Brendan Taylor, Gauhar Ali, Aizaz Cheema, and Haris Rauf.
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#5 Peshawar Zalmi - Kieron Pollard
Peshawar Zalmi under Darren Sammy's leadership finished runners up last season. They got Misbah-ul-Haq, Dawid Malan and more importantly, Kieron Pollard in the 2019 PSL Draft.
Pollard has been in stunning form in the last few months and is tearing apart oppositions with his high voltage knocks. Playing for the Dhaka Dynamites, he recently scored a blistering 62 off 26 balls.
His is one of the best fielders in the world and also a useful bowler with his clever medium pace. He can be the x-factor to this well-rounded team and probably lead them to the title this time.
Squad: Darren Sammy, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Kamran Akmal, Liam Dawson, Umaid Asif, Khalid Usman, Sameen Gul, Kieron Pollard, Misbah-ul-Haq, Dawid Malan, Umar Amin, Wayne Madsen, Sohaib Maqsood, Jamal Anwar, Nabi Gul, Chris Jordan, Waqar Salamkheil, Ibtisam Sheikh, and Samiullah Afridi.
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#6 Multan Sultans - Nicholas Pooran
The Multan Sultans went through a change in ownership and after a cry to change the team's name, they decided to persist with the same one. Though Steve Smith was ruled out of the tournament because of an injury, they still have a very good squad to compete in PSL 2019. Nicholas Pooran is one of their best buys in the draft.
Pooran has been playing really well in the past few months. He was sensational in the T10 league and also played well for West Indies. Pooran has been on fire in the ongoing BPL. Playing for Sylhet Sixers under David Warner, he is currently the second highest run-getter in the tournament.
Pooran is an attacking batsman who loves playing the big shots. His high strike rate and average in T20 matches is a testimony to his abilities and he can certainly make a difference for the team.
Squad: Shoaib Malik (c), Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Shan Masood, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Siddiq, Mohammad Junaid, Shahid Afridi, Joe Denly, Qais Ahmad, Nicolas Pooran, Laurie Evans, Nauman Ali, Mohammad Ilyas, Daniel Christian, Tom Moores, Ali Shafiq, and Shakeel Ansar.
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