LAHORE: More than 250 local and around 175 foreign players between 16 and 19 years of age will be available for selection for six teams in the player draft of the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Junior League. The draft will take place on September 8 (Thursday) here. The local players list includes the players who took part in the two PCB organised national Under-19 one-day and three-day tournaments in the ongoing season. Players who were selected for their respective Cricket Association team for the two premier national U19 competitions are eligible for the draft even if they didn’t play any match. Additionally, a total of 17 players from the PJL social media video campaign have been invited to the NHPC in Lahore for age verification and trials. The players selected amongst the 17 will be added to the draft list.
A total of 250-odd players will compete for 66 spots (11 in each of the six sides) for Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gwadar, Hyderabad, Mardan and Rawalpindi teams for PJL 2022. The foreign players will vie for 24 spots (four in each of the six sides). The age cut-off for tournament eligibility is 1 September 2003. The players have been divided into three categories — Elite, Premier and X-factor. The Elite category includes high-profile players who have either already appeared for their national Under-19 team or have made an impact at the domestic level (age-group cricket) organised by an ICC full member cricket board. Premier includes players who have significant age-group cricket experience or have been part of pathway cricket for their boards or regions. X-factor includes Associate Member board players as well as promising local talent. Amongst the foreign players, 105 are from ICC full member boards and more than 70 are from associate members.
Prominent foreign players: Abdullah Al Mamun (Bangladesh), Ackeem Auguste (West Indies), Ahmad Zia Zaland (Afghanistan), Ali Naseer (UAE), Anjala Bandara (Sri Lanka), Archie Lenham (England), Ariful Islam (Bangladesh), Brendon Sunguro (Zimbabwe), Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe), Burhan Niaz (Belgium), Emmanuel Bawa (Zimbabwe), Ethan Gibson (Canada), George Thomas (England), Hassan Eisakhil (Afghanistan), Huggins Machaka (Zimbabwe), Isai Thorne (West Indies), Jash Ginani (UAE), Jishan Alam (Bangladesh), Joseph Eckland (England), Joshua Tromp (USA), Lahiru Abeysinghe (Sri Lanka), Lahiru Dawatage (Sri Lanka), Luc Martin Benkenstein (England), Luke Holt (Australia), Malsha Tharupathi (Sri Lanka), Matthew Schocken (Zimbabwe), Matthew Tromp (USA), Masood Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Musa Shaheen Mahmood (Denmark), Nathan Edwards (West Indies), Naimur Rohman Noyon (Bangladesh), Nimar Bolden (West Indies), Oliver Davidson (Scotland), Olly Cox (England), Philippus le Roux (Ireland), Prantik Nawrose Nabil (Bangladesh), Shevon Daniel (Sri Lanka), Steven Wedderburn (West Indies), Tazeem Ali (Netherlands), Vasant Singh (West Indies) and Waleed Stanikzai (Afghanistan).