Gwadar was chosen for the Players Draft without consulting the franchise owners, Ali Tareen's shocking revelation

 PCB just told in a message that PSL 10 draft will be held in Gwadar: Multan Sultans owner

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Lahore (Urdu Point Latest Newspaper. January 9, 2024) Multan Sultans owner Ali Jahangir Tareen claimed that Gwadar was chosen for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 draft without consulting the franchise owners.

In a recent interview, Ali Tareen expressed disappointment over the method of selecting the draft venue, saying that the process was rushed and there was a lack of proper communication.

He explained that one day the franchise owners received a message in the official PSL WhatsApp group.

Ali Tareen said that one day we received a message in the PSL WhatsApp group that this year’s PSL draft would be held in Gwadar.

“A franchise owner messaged in distress and asked, ‘Sorry, just to clarify, is this a discussion or a final?’”

“The answer came ‘Final Bhai’.”

Ali Tareen explained that we were confused, thinking ‘What does final mean?’ Then, we were told that ‘a press release is coming in three minutes,’

“We were talking about London and Dubai and then we received the message: ‘Gwadar final bhai’.”

He further explained that when he questioned the decision, especially about the potential travel complications for overseas players and coaches, his concerns were minimally addressed.

Ali Tareen said that I asked “Please explain on what basis did you decide to go to Gwadar? Have you asked anyone whether our overseas players and coaches will be able to come?”

He also pointed out that Balochistan’s travel policy which conflicts with the UK’s travel guidelines would make it difficult for foreign players and coaches to get travel insurance.

Ali Tareen said “Officially Balochistan is against the travel policy in the UK so they won’t get travel insurance. But since it was ‘the final, bhai’, it was over.”

I sent a message saying, "Bro, all my foreign coaches are messaging me that this is against our travel policy, how will we get travel insurance?".

The official replied, "Okay, okay, we will deal with it."

But then nothing was done about it and eventually the decision was changed and now the draft will be held in Lahore.

It is worth mentioning that on December 20, 2024, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officially announced Gwadar as the venue for the PSL 10 draft.

As per the draft pick order, two-time PSL champions Lahore Qalandars will pick first in the opening round of the Platinum category followed by their arch-rivals Karachi Kings.

The third pick will go to 2019 PSL champions Quetta Gladiators and fourth place will go to Peshawar Zalmi.

Last season’s runners-up Multan Sultans will pick fifth and reigning champions Islamabad United will pick sixth.