7 December 2023: In a strategic move to further strengthen domestic spin bowling stocks and acquire the best picks in HBL PSL 9 Player Draft, Multan Sultans management has traded Shan Masood for the first pick in Diamond category, the second pick in Silver category as well as Multan-born left-arm wrist spinner Faisal Akram. Karachi Kings have gotten Multan Sultans’ fourth pick in the first Diamond round.

Multan Sultans now have two picks – second and fourth – in the first Silver round. The team had previously bagged the first Platinum pick of this year’s draft in a trade deal with Quetta Gladiators.

Faisal, a member of Pakistan squad in the previous ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, has 24 List A wickets and five T20 wickets.

Chief Executive Ali Khan Tareen: “This has been one of the most exciting trade and retention windows in the history of the HBL Pakistan Super League and we are delighted with how our line-up is shaping. We had two agendas for this trade window: focus on buildinging a strong domestic core and getting the best possible picks in the HBL PSL 9 Player Draft in order to get the best overseas players to compliment our team combination.

“These stellar draft picks plus our local core sets us up to build a solid squad for the HBL PSL 9 and beyond.

“I am over the moon to have finally gotten Faisal Akram in our team. We have been working with him since he was 16. He has been a regular at our academy and camps. He is an extraordinary talent and we are yet to see his best. Now he is part of our team for the next many years, our goal will be to develop him into a national asset.

“I want to thank Shan Masood who has been the longest serving member of the Sultans family. He has been our captain and a huge part of our success. We will definitely miss him and wish him the best in his new team.