The HBL PSL 2025 player draft was held on Monday afternoon at the historic Huzoori Bagh in Lahore Fort, where top players were selected to bolster team rosters for the upcoming season.
First-Round Picks: New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell was the first pick of the draft, selected by two-time champions Lahore Qalandars to strengthen their batting lineup. Mitchell, a seasoned T20I player with 70 matches under his belt, will debut in the HBL PSL this year.
The Karachi Kings, champions in 2020, secured Australian batter David Warner as their second pick. Warner, with over 12,700 runs in 392 T20 matches, brings immense experience and will also debut in the PSL 2025 season.
Peshawar Zalmi used their Right to Match option to retain Tom Kohler-Cadmore, initially picked by Quetta Gladiators. Kohler-Cadmore has been a vital player for Zalmi over the past four seasons. The Gladiators added Mark Chapman, a New Zealand international with 81 T20I appearances, to their squad.
The Platinum round concluded with Michael Bracewell joining Multan Sultans and Matthew Short being picked by Islamabad United. Bracewell, a versatile New Zealand player with 149 T20 matches, adds depth to the Sultans’ lineup, while Short bolsters Islamabad’s batting.
Second-Round Platinum Picks: The Gladiators and Karachi Kings made strategic moves in the second Platinum round. Quetta acquired all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and explosive New Zealand opener Finn Allen, while Karachi strengthened their bowling with Adam Milne and Mohammad Abbas Afridi, a standout performer for Multan Sultans in PSL 2023.
Diamond Round Highlights: The Diamond round saw teams securing valuable players. Peshawar Zalmi added Corbin Bosch, Islamabad United picked Jason Holder, and Lahore Qalandars brought in Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera. Peshawar also boosted their pace attack with Bangladesh’s Nahid Rana, and Islamabad recruited Australian pacer Ben Dwarshuis.
Silver Round Selections: Lahore Qalandars selected Bangladesh’s Rishad Hossain, while Islamabad United added Andries Gous from the United States. Multan Sultans strengthened their roster with Irish pacer Josh Little and West Indian spinner Gudakesh Motie.
Final Squads:
Islamabad United:
- Platinum: Matthew Short, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan
- Diamond: Imad Wasim (mentor), Azam Khan, Jason Holder
- Gold: Ben Dwarshuis, Salman Irshad, Salman Ali Agha, Haider Ali
- Silver: Andries Gous, Colin Munro, Muhammad Nawaz, Rumman Raees
- Emerging: Hunain Shah, Saad Masood
- Supplementary: Riley Meredith, Rassie van der Dussen
Multan Sultans:
- Platinum: Michael Bracewell, Mohammad Rizwan, Usama Mir
- Diamond: David Willey (mentor), Iftikhar Ahmed, Usman Khan
- Gold: Chris Jordan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain
- Silver: Akif Javed, Gudakesh Motie, Josh Little, Faisal Akram, Tayyab Tahir
- Emerging: Ubaid Shah, Shahid Aziz
- Supplementary: Johnson Charles, Muhammad Amir Barki, Shai Hope, Yasir Khan
Peshawar Zalmi:
- Platinum: Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najeebullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufyan Moqim
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph
Quetta Gladiators:
- Platinum: Faheem Ashraf, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman
- Diamond: Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir (mentor), Rilee Rossouw
- Gold: Akeal Hosein, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Wasim Jnr
- Silver: Haseebullah Khan, Khawaja Muhammad Nafay, Kyle Jamieson, Khurram Shahzad, Usman Tariq
- Emerging: Mohammad Zeeshan, Hasan Nawaz
- Supplementary: Danish Aziz, Kusal Mendis, Sean Abbott, Shoaib Malik
Karachi Kings:
- Platinum: Adam Milne, David Warner, Mohammad Abbas Afridi
- Diamond: Hasan Ali, James Vince, Khushdil Shah
- Gold: Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shan Masood
- Silver: Arafat Minhas, Litton Das, Mir Hamza, Tim Seifert, Zahid Mehmood
- Emerging: Fawad Ali, Riazullah
- Supplementary: Kane Williamson, Mohammad Nabi, Omair Bin Yousuf, Mirza Mamoon
Lahore Qalandars:
- Platinum: Daryl Mitchell, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Diamond: Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), Kusal Perera, Sikandar Raza
- Gold: Abdullah Shafique, Jahandad Khan, Zaman Khan
- Silver: Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, David Wiese, Muhammad Akhlaq, Rishad Hossain
- Emerging: Mohammad Azab, Momin Qamar
- Supplementary: Mohammad Naeem, Sam Billings, Salman Ali Mirza, Tom Curran
