Hetmyer all set to make his PSL debut

The flamboyant left-handed batsman from West Indies, Shimron Hetmyer will make his Pakistan Super League debut after being picked as a replacement player for the United Arab Emirates league. The sixth edition of the league is all set to resume in the first week of June in Abu Dhabi and a total of 13 players were either replaced or added to the existing squads on Saturday (May 22). Multan Sultans have picked Hetmyer in place of Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah.

The tournament originally started on February 20 in Karachi but had to be postponed after COVID-19 managed to breach the bio-bubble. The competition will now resume on June 1 with the final scheduled to be played on June 20. Apart from Hetmyer, there were quite a few other changes as well. All six franchises were also allowed to pick two more players, with at least one overseas player. 

Quetta Gladiator picked Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan to replace Ben Cutting, while the Singaporean batsman Tim David will play for Lahore Qalandars. Meanwhile, Quetta have also managed to rope in Jack Wildermuth and Jake Weatherald. Pakistan all-rounder Hammad Azam too has been acquired by Multan. UAE players Waseem Muhammad and Sultan Ahmed too were picked in the draft.

👀 check out the shiny new squads for #HBLPSL6 💪#MatchDikhao pic.twitter.com/W9veCRljfo

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) May 22, 2021

The Lahore team management would be delighted with the fact that Rashid Khan will return for the remainder of the tournament. The legspinner from Afghanistan played two matches for the side before leaving for Zimbabwe. Rashid will now fly directly to England for the T20 Blast. The Qalandars got Shakib al Hasan as his replacement but the all-rounder has now made himself unavailable. 

"I am excited to be back with PSL and Lahore Qalandars. I had a couple of good games with them earlier and the team went off to a good start, I am hopeful to help them continue with the momentum," he said. 

"I am really looking forward to joining up with my teammates at Sussex upon completion of the PSL. Whilst the travel restrictions in place have been a big factor in delaying my arrival, it is fortunate I am still able to play some high-level cricket before heading to Hove later in June."