Dawid Malan leads England’s 19-player field in Diamond category for PSL 2020

England’s Dawid Malan leads a strong field of 59 foreign international cricketers who have registered to date in Diamond Category for Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Malan, the third-ranked T20I batsman in the world, was in punishing form in the recently concluded five-match series against New Zealand, amassing 458 runs in just five matches.

It included a 48-ball century — an English record — in the fourth match in Napier. Malan belted nine fours and six sixes in a 51-ball 103 not out to power England to 241 for three, their highest score to date, that laid the foundation of a comfortable 76-run victory.

Malan has represented Peshawar Zalmi in three PSL editions since the inception of this tournament, helping the side from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to their sole triumph in 2017.

England’s Ravi Bopara and Luke Ronchi, who won the player of the PSL awards in 2016 and 2018, respectively, have also registered in the Diamond Category.

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Apart from Malan and Bopara, other England attractions in the preliminary list also include Somerset’s Tom Banton (who was the second leading scorer behind Babar Azam in the Vitality Blast 2019 with 549 runs), Yorkshire’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore (who aggregated 435 runs in the Vitality Blast 2019), Joe Denly, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton, Phil Salt, James Vince and Luke Wright.

Meanwhile, Daren Sammy, the darling of PSL, is among 12 West Indies players who have registered in the Diamond Category that also includes Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Alzarri Josphe, Keemo Paul and Marlon Samuels.

In the preliminary list, 11 South Africa cricketers have registered, with Rassie van der Dussen being the most popular name after his 241 runs in the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this year. Kyle Abbott, who was the fourth leading wicket-taker with 20 scalps for Hampshire in the Vitality Blast 2019, also features on the list.

Other prominent names in the preliminary list include Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah (world’s fourth-ranked all-rounder) and Mustafizur Rahman (world’s 32nd-ranked bowler), Roelof van der Merwe of Netherlands (world’s 24th-ranked all-rounder) and Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella (world’s 72nd-ranked batsman) and Isuru Udana (world’s 56th-ranked bowler).

Dasun Shanaka, who led Sri Lanka to 3-0 win over Pakistan last month, is also in the preliminary Diamond Category.

Australia’s Fawad Ahmed, Chris Green and Ben Laughlin, and Najeebullah Zadran and Qais Ahmad of Afghanistan are the other players to register in the Diamond Category.

The registration window for foreign players is still open and closes on November 21.

Complete list:

Afghanistan (2) - Najeebullah Zadran and Qais Ahmad

Australia (3) – Fawad Ahmed, Chris Green and Ben Laughlin

Bangladesh (4) - Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman and Tamim Iqbal

England (19) - Tom Banton, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Pat Brown, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mason Crane, Liam Dawson, Joe Denly, Laurie Evans, Lewis Gregory, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, Phil Salt, James Vince and Luke Wright

Netherlands (1) - Roelof van der Merwe

New Zealand (1) – Luke Ronchi

South Africa (11) - Kyle Abbott, Cameron Delport, Marchant de Lange, Rassie van der Dussen, Robbie Frylinck, Simon Harmer, Heino Kuhn, Duanne Olivier, Dane Vilas, Hardus Viljoen and David Wiese

Sri Lanka (5) - Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka and Isuru Udana

West Indies (12) - Fabian Allen, Johnson Charles, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Daren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Oshane Thomas and Kesrick Williams