The HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) draft 2021 for PSL 6 was held on January 10, 2021 at the National High Performance Centre, Lahore.

The event was indeed a star-studded affair and a challenge for the teams to pick the best combinations.

Starting with a crisp and positive speech by the PCB Chief Executive Officer Wasim Khan, who stressed on the importance of PSL playing a role in uniting the whole country through a sport they love. Wasim himself has been instrumental in bringing the league completely to Pakistan.

This was followed by brief addresses from the Chairman Ehsan Mani and other dignitaries.

With the most anticipated platinum pick, Islamabad United drafted the in-form pacer Hasan Ali. This was followed by the picks of Australian Chris Lynn by Multan Sultans, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) by Lahore Qalandars, South African David Miller by Peshawar Zalmi, the dominant batsman from West Indies, Chris Gayle, and young opener from England, Tom Banton, by Quetta Gladiators.

Other than the interesting picks in all categories by the franchise teams, it was engaging to know about insights related to how Wasim Akram, Karachi Kings’ Cricket Director, has been a great influence on Karachi Kings players; with Muhammad Amir sharing how Wasim focusses on the importance of the right mindset, motivating each other and helping the individual to utilise whatever resources he has in a positive way. This surely evidences the importance of valuable cricket mentors who can play a pivotal role in building a progressive team culture, especially when it comes to coping up in difficult times.

Additionally, Quetta’s Head Coach Moin Khan also shared how he has always kept Muhammad Amir motivated during the Lanka Premiere league, where he featured for Galle Gladiators, which helped him stay determined and focus on his strengths.

Whereas, former cricketer Bazid Khan, also a renowned commentator, kept us all glued with his interesting comments about the pitch conditions, player combinations, how pitches in Karachi and Lahore are likely to behave. For example, Karachi pitches might become slow as a lot of cricket is being played on them already, and Lahore pitches do have some pace to offer.

The audiences also got to see Shoaib Malik, a senior cricketer, sharing his approach with the youngsters on and off the pitch, how to get them in the comfort zone and tips for their performances.

Babar Azam and Shadab Khan were also seen talking about their influence on youngsters and overall game thought processes.

Much credit to presenter Zainab Abbas for posing insightful questions, smooth hosting by Imran Ahmad Khan and a well-managed production, the PSL Draft 2021 has surely been a thumping start leading to the beginning of the Pakistan Super League sixth edition — which is set to begin on February 20, 2021.

The final squads of the teams are as follows: