KARACHI:
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Tuesday, announced that veteran New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has signed up for the highly-anticipated player draft for the league’s 10th edition.
The announcement was made on the league’s social media handles with a banner and a caption stating, “Kiwi pace supreme Tim Southee enters the HBL PSL Draft.”
The 36-year-old is one of the most experienced players in the T20I format.
He has represented New Zealand in 126 T20I matches, picking up 164 wickets and is currently the highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket history.
When it comes to franchise league experience, he has played in The Hundred Men’s Competition, Indian Premier League (IPL), Vitality Blast and Champions League T20.
Over 10 IPL seasons, he represented teams like Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders.
In his IPL career, he played 54 matches, taking 47 wickets at an average of 37.06 and an economy rate of 8.66.
Notably, Southee is the fourth New Zealander and the 22nd overall foreign player to register for the PSL 10 draft, which will take place in Balochistan for the first time as Gwadar is set to host the landmark event on January 11, 2025.
Apart from him, Rassie van der Dussen has signed up for the highly-anticipated player draft for the league’s 10th edition.
The announcement was made on the league’s social media handles with a compilation video of the right-handed batter’s best shots.
“South African Right Hand Batter Rassie van der Dussen makes his way back to the HBL PSL Draft.”
The 35-year-old, who is a key part of South Africa’s white-ball sides, represented the Proteas in 18 Tests, 68 ODIs and 50 ODIs, accumulating 4626 runs across formats with the help of six centuries and 29 half-centuries.
Van der Dussen also has a wealth of experience in the T20 format, having played 211 matches in the format.
In these appearances, he scored 6075 runs at an impressive strike rate of 131.86, including five centuries and 39 fifties.
The right-handed batter has also featured in the PSL twice, representing Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars in 2023 and 2024 editions, respectively.
His PSL record is equally impressive as he has 512 runs to his name in 13 innings at an average of 46.54 and a strike rate of 145.86. He has also scored one century and three fifties in the league.
The pick order for the player draft has also been announced, with two-time champions Lahore Qalandars making the first pick in the opening round of the platinum category, followed by arch-rivals Karachi Kings.
2019 champions Quetta Gladiators will make the third pick, while Peshawar Zalmi will have the fourth.
Last season’s runners-up, Sultans, and reigning champions United will make the fifth and sixth picks, respectively.
Registered foreign players for PSL 10 player draft: Tim Southee, Martin Guptill, Rassie van der Dussen, Matthew Short, Gudakesh Motie, Alex Hales, Luke Wood, Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Corbin Bosh, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Curran, David Willey, Dawid Malan, Jason Roy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and Sikandar Raza.
