Lanka Premier League (LPL) will be the only third men's franchise league to have a player auction this year.
The auction will be held tomorrow [June 14]. As many as 500 players have registered for the auction, shared Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
Each franchise will bring in a sum of US$ 500,000 for the auction to bid for players, thus totalling up to an overall sum of US$ 2.5 million from all five teams.
Prominent Pakistani cricketers have also registered themselves for the league. The list of players include Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz, Azam Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-Ul-Haq, Zaman Khan, Omar Bin Yousaf, Mir Hamza, Abdullah Shafiq, Sohaib Maqsood, Amir Jamal, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Nawaz, Wasim Jr, Sharjeel Khan, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali, Saim Ayub, Harris Sohail, Yasir Shah, Usman Qadir, Rumman Raees, Shahnawaz Dahani, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Usman Shinwari, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Faheem Ashraf.
The tournament will run from July 30 to August 20.
Colombo Strikers rope in Babar Azam for LPL
Pakistan's captain in all three formats, Babar Azam was signed by Colombo Strikers for this year's LPL. He was among few direct signings for the event.
The in-form Azam, one of Pakistan's most successful captains, will lead the national team till the 2023 World Cup to be held in India in October.
Though the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has yet to make the official announcement, it was learned from well-informed sources that the Board's think-tank comprising chairman Management Committee Najam Sethi, chief selector Haroon Rashid and Director Coaching Mickey Arthur have unanimously decided to repose trust in Babar as the captain of the team till 2023 World Cup. Besides leading the team in the World Cup, he will also be seen captaining the team in all series and events in the run-up to the mega event.
These include the two Test match series against Sri Lanka, three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and Asia Cup to be hosted by Pakistan in September.
- Sarfaraz Ahmed