Fakhar Zaman reacts to PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars releasing him

Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman was left baffled and bemused as his Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Lahore Qalandars decided not to retain ahead of the draft for the league’s next year’s edition, starting in January. Fakhar reacted in confusion and displeasure as the news was confirmed that PSL franchises have opted to release a few […]
 By Kashish Chadha Dec 11, 2021, 11:28 IST
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Fakhar Zaman reacts to PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars releasing him

Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman was left baffled and bemused as his Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Lahore Qalandars decided not to retain ahead of the draft for the league’s next year’s edition, starting in January.

Fakhar reacted in confusion and displeasure as the news was confirmed that PSL franchises have opted to release a few prominent names from their squads ahead of PSL 2022 and he is one of them.

This, despite the explosive left-hander being Qalandars’ top run-getter in PSL 2021, where he struck 287 runs at an average of 31.88 and strike-rate of 121.09. In his reaction on Twitter, Fakhar Zaman indicated strongly that he wasn’t involved in the team’s discussion on retention and was not at all aware that he is about to be released.

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Fakhar Zaman reacts to PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars releasing him

Fakhar Zaman hasn’t been retained by his PSL franchise ahead of league’s 2022 edition.

Fakhar Zaman left disappointed as Lahore Qalandars release him ahead of PSL 2022

In another tweet, however, Fakhar Zaman suggested there may still be a chance that he stays with the Qalandars as he asked his passionate fans not to detach themselves from the PSL franchise just yet.

Fakhar didn’t find a space for himself in Qalandars’ retention list in any of the categories. The cricketer lost the retention race to Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan, who have been retained in the Platinum category, and also David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hafeez (all three Diamond category) and Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf and Ahmed Daniyal (all in Silver category).

But as the second of Fakhar’s tweets, where he effectively told his fans to “wait for now, keep patience”, suggested, the cricketer is likely to play again for the Qalandars. A report from ESPNcricinfo on Friday (December 10) said the Qalandars are likely to draft Fakhar Zaman in the squad in the Platinum category.

The draft for the PSL 2022 is scheduled for Sunday (December 12), while the tournament begins on January 27 and runs till February 27. But the Fakhar Zaman issue seems to have not go down well with the player and his fans. Media personnel and fans immediately came out in support of the left-hander and criticised the Qalandars franchise for their decision.

Here is how they reacted:

 

There is a likelihood that Fakhar Zaman could be brought back into the Qalandars fold via the new right-to-match card system, which will be applicable in PSL draft procedure for the very first time ahead of the next season.

Through this, PSL franchises will be able to get back one of their released players by paying specific fees depending on the category. In using the card for the player in the Platinum category, the team will have to let go of PKR 2.8 million. PKR 1.75 million in the Diamond category, 1.4 million in the Gold category and 0.8 and 0.45 million in Silver and Emerging categories, respectively.

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