LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced that more than 250 local and around 175 overseas players between the age of 16 and 19 years would be available for selection by the six teams in the players’ draft scheduled here on Thursday of the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Junior League (PJL).
According to the details, only 66 local players will be selected out of the total number of available players,11 in each of the six sides. The foreign players will vie for 24 spots, four in each side.
The first-of-its-kind T20 league will take place here from October 6 to 21 featuring six teams namely Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gwadar, Hyderabad, Mardan and Rawalpindi. Players born on or after 1 September 2003 are eligible to participate in the inaugural edition.
The local players’ list includes the participants of two PCB-organised national U19 One-Day and three-day tournaments in the ongoing season. Players who were selected for their respective Cricket Association teams for the two U19 competitions are eligible for the draft even if they didn’t play any match.
Moreover, a total of 17 players from the PJL social media video campaign have been invited to the National High Performace Center (NHPC) in Lahore for age verification and trials. The players selected amongst them will be added to the draft list.
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 U19 team or have made an impact at the domestic level (age-group cricket) organised by an ICC Full Member cricket board.
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 U19 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).
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