Lanka Premier League Shortlists 24 Pakistan Players For Auction

Sri Lanka Cricket has shortlisted at least 150 foreign cricketers, including 24 Pakistanis, for this year’s inaugural Lanka Premier League (LPL) which is scheduled to begin in November.

The player auction will be held on October 1 and each franchise can buy up to six international players. A total of 30 international and 65 local cricketers are expected to make up the five teams.

Around 150 top-notch cricketers including Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Shahid Afridi, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Ravi Bopara, Colin Munro, Munaf Patel, and Vernon Philander are in line to play in the league. 

According to the players' list available to Geo Super, all-rounder Shahid Afridi is among the most expensive foreign players with base price of $60,000. 

Two other players who carry a price $60,000 are Gayle of West Indies and South Africa's Faf du Plessis.

It is pertinent to mention that Afridi has already been named as marquee player by the team Galle Gladiators — a sister franchise of the Pakistan Super League side Quetta Gladiators.

All-rounder Shoaib Malik is placed in the $50,000 price category while Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, and Wahab Riaz have a base price of $40,000

Other Pakistan players available for the league include Sarfaraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Yasir Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Mohammad Abbas, Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Khan, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Iftekhar Ahmed, and Ruman Raees.

Furthermore, former captain Wasim Akram and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar have also made themselves available for LPL for non-playing roles.

The tournament will run from November 14 to December 6.