KARACHI: Karachi Kings captain David Warner has raised concerns over the recently announced exclusion of his team’s players from the Pakistan Super League Season 11 tournament.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the line-up on Monday, naming Babar Azam as the captain following a remarkable campaign in which he led Peshawar Zalmi to the title while also excelling with the bat.
The selected squad included three players each from Peshawar Zalmi and Hyderabad Kingsmen, two players each from Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United, and one player each from Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators.
However, the 12-player list does not include any representatives from the Karachi Kings or Rawalpindi sides.
The team was selected by a five-member panel from the competition’s commentary committee, which also finalized the competition’s emerging team to honor outstanding young artists.
The former Aussie player took to Instagram to question the omission, commenting on PSL’s official post: “Where are the Karachi players,” expressing his belief that the Karachi players were being overlooked despite their remarkable performance.
Warner was Karachi Kings’ leading run-scorer, amassing 256 runs at a strike-rate of 147.97 in seven matches, including three fifties.
Meanwhile, pacer Hasan Ali took 15 wickets in nine matches, becoming one of the tournament’s top wicket takers.
A total of 44 matches were held from March 26 to May 3 across Lahore and Karachi.
In the final, Peshawar Zalmi won their second PSL title by defeating Hyderabad Kingsmen at Gaddafi Stadium. Despite Saeem Ayub’s 54, Hyderabad were bowled out for 129 in 18 overs.
Chasing 130, Zalmi recovered from 40-4 with an 85-run partnership between Aaron Hardy and Abdul Samad. Hardy was unbeaten on 56, Zalmi had 5 wickets in hand and 28 balls to spare to ensure victory.
PSL 11 Team of the Match:
Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi) (c), Faqar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars), Gusal Mendis (Peshawar Zalmi) (wk), Shaan Masood (Multan Sultans), Usman Khan (Hyderabad Kingsmen), Shatab Khan (Islamabad United), Shahan Khan (Hyderabad Kingsmen), Shaheen Qufri, Shahan Khan Shah (Hyderabad Kingsmen), Sufyan Mokim (Peshawar Zalmi), Richard Gleeson (Islamabad United) and Hasan Nawaz (Quetta Gladiators) (12th man).
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