Sides select local supplementary players

Cheema, Ajmal chosen by Islamabad, Quetta respectively

DUBAI: Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators, who clash in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) opener in Dubai on February 4, have exercised their option of bringing in one local supplementary player to be part of the playing squad, calling up Aizaz Cheema and Saeed Ajmal respectively.

38-year-old off-spinner Ajmal is trying to return to the national fold as he continues to struggle with his remodelled action.



Less than 18 months ago, Ajmal was the most sought after player in world cricket; topping the International Cricket Council (ICC) bowlers’ rankings across several formats. However, his star has been on the wane ever since he was called up by the ICC for having an illegal bowling action and he was only picked as a supplementary player by Islamabad.

On the other hand, fast-bowler Aizaz Cheema has been brought in by Quetta to bolster their pace attack, with England’s Jade Dernbach and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera ruled out due to injury and national commitments respectively.

Cheema, who famously bowled the match-winning over in the 2012 Asia Cup final against Bangladesh, has also found it difficult to nail down a place in the national side, but continues to be one of the standout performers in domestic cricket.



Lahore Qalandars, meanwhile, have brought in Ehsan Adil, while Peshawar Zalmi have opted for left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar.

Karachi Kings, led by Shoaib Malik, are the only side to not have called up a supplementary so far but PSL’s most expensive team are expected to bring in either explosive right-handed opener Shahzaib Hasan or left-handed middle-order batsman Fawad Alam.

The sides also have the option of bringing in one international supplementary player, which means that the likes of Brad Hodge (Peshawar), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Karachi) and Kumar Sangakkara (Quetta) are also likely to be called up by their respective sides.