Veteran Proteas speedster Dale Steyn was one of the major drawcards in Sunday’s draft for the 2021 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
MUST READ | SHANE WARNE IN HOT WATER FOR CURSING SA-BORN MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE ON AIR
This year’s tournament will be staged in Karachi and Lahore from 20 February to 22 March and will be played without spectators in attendance due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
DALE STEYN WILL BE A ‘SUPPLEMENTARY’ PLAYER
Alas, while Steyn was drafted by the Quetta Gladiators, he’ll be a ‘supplementary’ player for the team and is unlikely to see much action, barring injuries to the squad.
This year’s tournament will be the sixth edition of the PSL.
The tournament will comprise six teams, namely, the Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi and the Gladiators.
The Karachi Kings are the defending champions.
READ | PROTEAS TO BE AFFORDED STAGE GUEST LEVEL SECURITY IN PAKISTAN
The rules of regarding squad composition are unique to the tournament, and are as follows:
Each side must have a minimum of 16 players, but can add an extra two as ‘cover’. These are known as ‘supplementary’ players.
The breakdown of squad members is as follows: Platinum (3), diamond (3), gold (3), silver (5), emerging (2) and supplementary (2).
Each team was given a window prior to the draft to retain a maximum of eight players from last year’s tournament.
The 16-man squads must include five foreign players and 11 local Pakistani players, while the 18-player squad can be split either 5/13 or 6/12.
Teams must have a minimum or three and a maximum of four foreign players in every starting XI.
READ | JACQUES KALLIS CALLED ‘FANTASTIC ADDITION’ TO ENGLAND CAMP
While Dale Steyn was drafted as a ‘supplementary’ player, other South Africans in the draft faired better.
David Miller was drafted as a platinum player by the Peshawar Zalmi, while veteran spinner Imran Tahir was retained as a diamond pick by the Multan Sultans. The Sultans also retained Rilee Rossouw as a platinum player.
David Wiese was drafted as a diamond selection by the Lahore Qalandars.
Colin Ingram was ‘retained’ by the Karachi Kings after a transfer from Islamabad United on a platinum grade salary.
Finally, Cameron Delport was drafted on a silver contract by the Quetta Gladiators.
Other South Africans who reportedly expressed an interest and confirmed their availability for the T20 league, but found no suitors included Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott and Tabraiz Shamsi.
STEYN HAS CONFIRMED HE HAS NOT RETIRED FROM CRICKET
Steyn, now 37-years-old, earlier in January took to social media to confirm that he had not retired from the game and confirmed he would be putting his hand up for the various T20 tournaments staged around the world.
He did however rule himself out of consideration for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).
STEYN HASN’T PLAYED FOR THE PROTEAS SINCE FEBRUARY 2020
Steyn, who is South Africa’s leading all-time Test wicket-taker, retired from the Test arena in 2019.
He hasn’t been selected for the Proteas since February last year despite making himself available for selection for both the ODI and T20 formats.
