Daily Times

LAHORE: Karachi Kings have snapped up English batter Ian Cockbain for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) season. In a heavily English-centric PSL replacement draft on Monday night, Cockbain, 34, was signed as a substitute for fellow countryman Tom Abell, who sustained a knee injury playing for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL). Earlier, Cockbain, who only signed for the Adelaide Strikers last week – the first overseas T20 league has played –––- smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 71 to take his side through to the BBL playoffs. He is a middle-order batter for Gloucestershire and was part of the Welsh Fire side in the inaugural season of the Hundred. Peshawar Zalmi’s Saqib Mahmood and Liam Livingstone became unavailable for the start of the PSL on January 27 as they are part of England’s five-match T20I series in the Caribbean. Zalmi, last year’s finalists, have drafted in legspinner Matt Parkinson and fast bowler Pat Brown as partial replacements.

Parkinson, 25, has never before competed in an overseas T20 league. He has played for Lancashire in the T20 Blast and the Manchester Originals in the Hundred, in addition to making five ODI and four T20I appearances for England. Brown took 31 wickets in the Blast in 2018, which lead to an England call-up, but a succession of injuries has since seen his progress impeded. England’s T20I series against the West Indies concludes on January 30. Upon reaching Pakistan, Mahmood and Livingstone will be required to enter three days of quarantine in their rooms before linking up with their teams. The current schedule would mean the duo will miss up to five PSL games during that time.

Quetta Gladiators selected England batter Dan Lawrence as a reserved supplementary pick, while Zalmi snapped up Pakistan medium fast bowler Sohail Khan in that category.

The PSL runs from January 27 to February 27 under strict bio-secure protocols. All games under February 7 will be played at the National Stadium Karachi, before the tournament moves to Gaddafi Stadium Lahore for the remaining games, including the playoffs and the final.

In: Ian Cockbain (Karachi Kings), Matt Parkinson and Pat Brown (Peshawar Zalmi ––- partial)

Out: Tom Abell (Karachi Kings), Saqib Mahmood and Liam Livingstone (Peshawar Zalmi ––- partial)

Reserved supplementary picks: Dan Lawrence (Quetta Gladiators), Sohail Khan (Peshawar Zalmi).