Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Taskin Ahmed and Rovman Powell were among the top international picks in the Lanka Premier League draft ahead of the 2021 edition of the league.
LPL 2021
Gayle, Du Plessis, Malik and Shamsi among LPL 2021 picks
Shoaib Malik will play for Jaffna Kings in LPL 2021 © Getty
Meanwhile, a bunch of Sri Lanka's star cricketers, including Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva, were not picked in the draft.
Colombo Stars acquired the services of Gayle along with Taskin and Mohammad Irfan while Tahir, Sohaib Maqsood and Rilee Russouw made it to the Dambulla Giants squad. Hafeez, Shamsi, Mohammad Amir, Samit Patel and Sarfaraz Ahmed were picked by Galle Gladiators.
Du Plessis is set to appear alongside Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz and Jayden Seales for Jaffna Kings while Kandy Warriors opted for Powell, Cameron Delport, Mohammad Mithun and Nazmul Islam in their 20-member squad.
The LPL organisers have faced several obstacles, including changes in the ownership of three teams - one of the teams was Jaffna Stallions, winners of the 2020 edition, whose