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LANKY Zimbabwe senior national cricket team fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani, who made history by winning the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with the Multan Sultans in June, has been retained for the upcoming edition starting next month in Karachi after the six franchises firmed up their squads.
Each team had to choose at least three foreign players among their first nine picks and could get the other foreigner from the supplementary round.
The sides must field a minimum of three overseas players and a maximum of four in their playing XI.
Their 16-man squad must include five foreign and 11 local players.
Muzarabani was outstanding in the final game that clinched the title for Sultans, picking up two wickets for 26 runs in four overs as they beat Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs.
It was the first time that Sultans, who were coached by Zimbabwean cricket legend Andy Flower, had won the PSL.
Muzarabani belongs to the few elite Zimbabwean cricketers, who include Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu,
Solomon Mire, and Sikander Raza, that have played in T20 leagues around the world.
The 25-year-old Muzarabani was initially drafted into the Sultans side as a replacement for West Indian bowler Obed McCoy, who had pulled out due to a back injury.
But now he is part of the original squad and is likely to lead their bowling attack from the onset.
Muzarabani joins Odean Smith and Rovman Powell from the West Indies, Australian Tim David, Pakistan-born South African spinner Imran Tahir as well as Anwar Ali, Imran Khan Snr and Rumman Raees from Pakistan.
Full Pakistan Super League player lists
Islamabad United
Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Marchant de Lange, Muhammad Akhlaq, Reece Topley, Danish Aziz, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan, M. Zeeshan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ather Mehmood
Karachi Kings
Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Amir, Joe Clarke, Sharjeel Khan, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Ilyas, Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Tom Abell, Rohail Nazir, Muhammad Imran, Faisal Akram, Qasim Akram, Talha Ahsan, Romario Shepherd
Lahore Qalandars
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rashid Khan, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ahmed Daniyal, Fakhar Zaman, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel, Syed Faridoun
Multan Sultans
Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw, Sohaib Maqsood, Imran Tahir, Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dhani, Tim David, Odean Smith, Rumman Raees, Asif Afridi, Anwar Ali, Rovman Powell, Imran Khan Sr., Abbas Afridi, Amir Azmat, Blessing Muzarabani, Ihsanullah
Peshawar Zalmi
Wahab Riaz, Liam Livingstone, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Haider Ali, Saqib Mahmood, Hussain Talat, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Qadir, Salman Irshad, Arshad Iqbal, Sameen Gul, Kamran Akmal, Sirajuddin, Mohammad Amir Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Haris
Quetta Gladiators
James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Jason Roy, James Faulkner, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Ben Duckett, Khurram Shehzad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Muhammad Ashar Qureshi, Noor Ahmad, Ahsan Ali.
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