Australia's Steve Smith and New Zealand's Kane Williamson to Ditch the PSL

In a major blow to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Australian cricketer Steve Smith and New Zealand's Kane Williamson will likely be unavailable for the PSL. This news comes as the PCB is already waiting for clearance from the England Cricket Board for the English players' participation in the T20 tournament, similar to the IPL. 

As per the reports, New Zealand’s former captain, Kane Williamson and Australia’s captain, Steve Smith, will not make themselves available in the PSL (Pakistan Super League) because of their personal commitments. The woe comes when the PCB is waiting for clearance from the ECB for the participation of English Players. 

This year’s PSL clashes with the IPL, making the situation even worse since most of the players will be busy in the IPL. The Pakistan Cricket Board is trying to acquire players who were not bought in the IPL auction.

PSL Platinum Category

The Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Tuesday that players such as David Warner, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, and Mustafizur Rahman will be selected in the platinum category for the player draft on January 13.

PCB also mentioned the other players who are in the platinum category 

Australian Players

English Players

New Zealand Players

Sri Lankan Players

West Indies Players

Though PCB expects Steve Smith and Kane Williamson to participate in the tournament, they were likely to excuse themselves from participating due to other commitments. Since the PSL clashes with the IPL, PCB is leaving no stone unturned to lure the players who are not playing in the IPL.

For the first time, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan will not be allowed to participate due to the ban on him related to his bowling action.

Other players in the platinum category