David Warner latest to join PSL draft

GWADAR: Australian cricket star David Warner will be up for grabs at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) draft, which is set to kick off on January 11 in Gwadar.

Warner is joining compatriots Matthew Short, Sean Abbot, Alex Carey, and Usman Khawaja, all of whom have already been confirmed for the draft.

Warner has long dominated in T20s, scoring 12,540 runs across 389 matches, with a strike rate of 140.15 and an average score of 36.66. He has eight centuries and a staggering 105 fifties in the format.

The Aussie has been a mainstay of the Indian Premier League (PSL) until the end fo this past year, when he wasn’t chosen at the draft. He has played in 184 matches in the PSL, scoring 6,565 runs across. His highest score in the league came in 2017, when he led the Sunrisers to victory over the Knight Riders by scoring 126 runs off only 59 deliveries.

However, his highest score in T20 came in the 2011 Champions League, when he scored 135 runs off 69 deliveries to help New South Wales beat the Chennai Super Kings.

Also read: This is how the PSL draft is shaping up

Currently, Warner is captaining the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. In their most recent match, Warner scored an unbeaten 86 runs, the first half century the Aussie has made in over 11 years. His fantastic knock allowed the Thunder to get their third win of the season, putting them at third in the table with only one loss so far this season.

Warner’s inclusion in the PSL will boost the international reputation of the league. While not as effective as he once was, Warner is still likely to join the platinum category.

Here are the other international players that are confirmed for the draft:

England is the biggest contributor of players, with Alex Hales, Luke Wood, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Curran, David Willey, Dawid Malan, and Jason Roy up for grabs.

Three South African’s are also available. Rassie van der Dussen is the latest of the Proteas to be confirmed, joining Corbin Bosch and Rilee Rossouw.

Also read: PSL 10: Rassie van der Dussen registers for player draft

Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh will also be competing.

Gudakesh Motie will be coming from the West Indies, and Sikandar Raza is coming from Zimbabwe.