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Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan join PSL draft for season two

by Manuj Sharma Saturday 2 July 2016

Brendon McCullum (left) and Eoin Morgan (right) will add more flare to the tournament.

©REUTERS / Action Images

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan have joined the player draft for the second season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The player draft for the second season will be held in October whereas the tournament is set to get underway in February 2017.

The chairman of the PSL Najam Sethi said that McCullum and Morgan are crucial additions to the tournament and added that the organisers will reveal more top-level signings in the near future.

"Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan are proven international stars who not only bring a wealth of international cricket experience but also bring invaluable leadership experience to the HBL PSL player roster," Sethi said.

"While we have announced these two names, there are at least a dozen additional top-level signings that will be revealed in the coming days.

“It will be interesting to see how teams manage their retention and transfers given such quality additions to the player draft"

In a statement, the PSL said that the franchises have agreed to increase the player salary cap to $1.2 million for each team.

For the second season, the teams can now retain a total of 16 players from their current squads and the window for the same will close on 14th September.

"It was decided that the teams may retain up to 16 players from their existing squads," the PSL said in a statement.

"All players who were brought on board by a team, regardless of whether they played, are eligible for retention.

“The retention window will also provide teams with a chance to renegotiate with existing players and the window closes on September 14, 2016.

“The transfer window is concurrently open with teams in a position to leverage their draft picks and/or existing squads to find an ideal balance."

The PSL has decided that only players under the age of 23 as on 1st January 2017 will be allowed to feature in the emerging category in the player draft.

In the draft for the second season, Lahore Qalandars, who finished at the bottom of the points table in the first season will pick first while the champions Islamabad United will pick last in all the rounds.