The season 9 of HBL PSL will start on 17 February 2024. However, Peshawar Zalmi and the other franchises suffered huge blows before the tournament started. Some players have decided to opt out of PSL, while others have partial availability in the Pakistan Super League. That is why, the franchises will select the replacements in the replacement draft on 29 January 2024. If you want to know the players unavailable in the upcoming season, continue reading.
Huge blow to Peshawar Zalmi
Peshawar Zalmi faces numerous problems with the team combination as three players are likely to miss the upcoming season of HBL PSL. However, the biggest blow right now is Lungi Ngidi. The South African fast bowler is likely to miss the league due to NOC issues. Cricket South Africa hasn’t issued an NOC to him right now. And this is why, the fast bowler might miss out on the Pakistan Super League this year.
Check: Peshawar Zalmi Squad 2024 – PSL 9 Players [CONFIRMED]
Lungi Ngidi is not a player you want to go away. His ability to bowl fast and move the ball at a quick pace makes him a valuable option with the new ball. However, his absence will be a huge blow to the team. He has played 119 T20s so far and has taken 164 wickets with an economy rate of 8.22 and a strike rate of 14.3
Apart from Lungi Ngidi, Peshawar Zalmi will have to look for the replacements of Noor Ahmad and Naveen-ul-Haq. Naveen might not be an issue. However, Noor Ahmad was a valuable piece in the chess for Babar Azam. With Noor’s left-arm wrist spin, things could have gotten cheeky for the opposition.
Pollard unavailable
It is not only the Zalmis who are facing this issue. Kieron Pollard, their Platinum pick, will be unavailable for the majority of the league stages. This makes him practically unavailable for the season as Karachi will have a set player in his stead till the end of the season. The reason for his unavailability is that he will play the IPL.
Read: Karachi Kings Squad 2024
Hasaranga problem continues
Quetta Gladiators is again facing this issue due to Wanindu Hasaranga. Hasaranga is a valuable asset since his ability to trick the batters with his spin bowling, and his exploits with the bat can serve the team a lot.
However, he was unavailable last season due to injury issues. And in this season, he will only play five matches in the league stages.
Conclusion
With a plethora of leagues these days, it is expected that the scheduling is a tricky business. However, the franchises have to look into this issue. There seem to be some players that always do this sort of thing, and it hurts the team combination and the PSL brand in general. That is why, the teams have to carefully select the players while looking at their availability for the full season. Otherwise, the players leaving the team in the middle, or joining the team when the combination is already set affects the team negatively in various aspects.