12 ICA Stars Who Were Drafted for the Seventh Edition of Pakistan Super League
The draft for the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League concluded on 12 December 2021 at the National High-Performance Centre of the PCB. All six teams shaped up nicely for the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League. 12 ICA Stars were picked through the drafts amongst five teams of PSL. Following are the details of ICA Players picked in the PSL 2022 Draft:
MULTAN SULTANS:
Defending Champions Multan Sultans opted for 3 ICA Players in PSL 2022 Draft. The left-arm T20 Specialist pacer, Rumman Raeees is returning back to Pakistan Super League and this time he will represent Rumman Raeees. Rumman Raees was picked in the Silver Category of the draft. The T20 Specialist pacer had a very good run in National T20 Cup 2021, and if all goes well, Rumman will look to continue that form in the PSL as well.
Ihsan Ullah and Aamer Azmat are two potential talents picked up by the defending champions. Ihsan Ullah is a raw talent picked in the Supplementary Category, on the basis of hitting the deck hard, while Aamer Azmat is backed by his stellar 2nd XI performance in the Cricket Associations Championship 2021/22 where he scored 250 runs at an average of 41. Aamer Azmat was picked in the Silver Category of the draft.
PESHAWAR ZALMI:
The runners-up of PSL 6, Peshawar Zalmi drafted 3 ICA Stars in their teams. Pace bowlers, Salman Irshad and Sameen Gul were picked in the silver category of the draft by the 2017 PSL Champions. Sameen was with Peshawar Zalmi last year as well. Both Sameen and Salman Irshad had decent runs in the National T20 Cup 2021 where both of them picked 6 and 5 wickets each respectively.
The emerging wicket-keeper batsman, Muhammad Haris was also picked by Peshawar Zalmi. Harris has also been with the Zalmi Squad before as a reserve keeper. Haris was picked in the supplementary category of the draft.
QUETTA GLADIATORS:
Quetta Gladiators opted for 2 ICA Stars in the PSL 2022 Draft. Umar Akmal and Khurram Shahzad, both returned to the Quetta Gladiators in the silver category of the draft. Umar Akmal’s hard-hitting potential was once again trusted by the Gladiators. Khurram Shahzad played an emerging player for Quetta Gladiators last year and showed great control on line and length, hence he was picked once again by Quetta Gladiators.
LAHORE QALANDARS:
Abdullah Shafique and Dean Foxcroft are the 2 ICA Stars in Lahore Qalandars. Abdullah Shafique was picked in the Gold Category of the draft while Dean Foxcroft was in Silver. Abdullah has been a star already with his brilliant Test Debut recently against Bangladesh where he scored twin half-centuries. Abdullah Shafique was also quite phenomenal in the National T20 Cup 2021 where he scored 259 runs for Balochistan.
Dean Foxcroft is another talented batsman who has brilliant numbers in T20 Cricket. He averages over 40 with the bat in this format and has a strike rate of 129.
ISLAMABAD UNITED:
Islamabad United opted for Wicket-Keeper Batsman Mohammad Akhlaq and All-Rounder Danish Aziz. Both the ICA Stars have shown great promise at the start of their careers. Danish Aziz bagged a Man of the Match award last year in PSL where he scored 45(13). That was a great display of how deadly Danish Aziz is with the bat. Mohammad Akhlaq bats with the same aggressive intent as Danish Aziz. Akhlaq has a T20 Strike rate of 136. Akhlaq’s wicket-keeping and Danish Aziz’s left-arm spin bowling are additional benefits for Islamabad United.
Complete List of ICA Players in PSL 2022:
Rumman Raees, Ihsan Ullah and Aaamer Azmat – Multan Sultans
Salman Irshad, Sameen Gul and Salman Irshad – Peshawar Zalmi
Umar Akmal and Khurram Shahzad – Quetta Gladiators
Abdullah Shafique and Dean Foxcroft- Islamabad United
Danish Aziz and Mohammad Akhlaq – Islamabad United.