Lahore, 7 February 2019:

The HBL Pakistan Super League has not only grown into one of the most glamourous cricket leagues in the world, it has also proven to be a platform for the next generation of cricketers to display their talent and prowess.

In this column, we look at some of the cricketers who have graduated from the HBL Pakistan Super League to become household names.

Shadab Khan (Islamabad United)

From an emerging player in HBL PSL 2017 to now becoming the vice-captain of his side for HBL PSL 2019, Shadab Khan’s story is a testimony to the fact that the League provides a great opportunity for young cricketers to perform and grow.

The spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan made his mark in his maiden HBL Pakistan Super League season in 2017 after he was picked by Islamabad United as one of the supplementary players in emerging category.

The hallmark of Shadab’s performance in the HBL PSL has been his wily googlies, economical bowling spells and sharp fielding. So far, the leg-spinner has taken 18 wickets at an economy of

6.57 and scored 131 runs at a strike-rate of 125.96 in the HBL PSL

Shadab made his international debut in all three formats in the Caribbean immediately after his first HBL PSL stint. His strongest suit at international level so far has been T20Is, in which he has taken 44 wickets, including 10 in the debut series against Windies in 2017, at an average of

18.59. Shadab  is presently the second-best bowler in the ICC T20 Rankings

Shadab has represented Pakistan in five Tests, 34 ODIs and 32 T20Is and is part of the United squad as one of their three Platinum category players.

Hasan Ali (Peshawar Zalmi)

At the back of a fine 2015-16 season, Hasan Ali was picked by Peshawar Zalmi as one of their emerging players before the inaugural HBL PSL in 2016. Today, Hasan is one of the leading fast bowlers in world cricket.

Even though he played only three matches in his debut season, the young pacer from Gujranwala did enough to get noticed. His memorable spell of 3-1-13-1 earned Zalmi a crucial one-run victory against Quetta Gladiators in the Qualifier.

Hasan got a taste of international cricket soon after this as he was called up to the national squad for Pakistan’s limited overs tour to Ireland and the United Kingdom in 2016. He was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the ODI series in England in 2016 with eight scalps.

Hasan returned to the country a year later and played a crucial role in Pakistan’s historic ICC Champions Trophy 2017 triumph, picking up 13 wickets at 14.69 to win the player of the tournament     award.

Hasan has represented Pakistan in nine Tests, 44 ODIs and 29 T20Is for Pakistan and is part of the Zalmi squad as one of their three Platinum category players.

Hassan Khan (Quetta Gladiators/Lahore Qalandars)

The left-arm spinner Hassan Khan rose to prominence in the HBL PSL in 2017 when he made his T20 debut as an 18-year old for Quetta Gladiators. Hassan took nine wickets at 25.33 in the first tournament and bowled economical spells to guide the Gladiators to the historic HBL PSL 2017 final played in Lahore.

In the two tournaments so far, he has bowled 60.4 overs at an impressive economy of just 6.84.

Even though Hassan is still in an uncapped international player, he captained Pakistan to the semi-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. The young spinner took seven wickets at 26.85 in the tournament and bowled 44 overs at an economy of just 4.27.

Hassan moved to Lahore Qalandars as a result of a pre-season trade where he joins his Pakistan Under-19 team mate Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars)

The left-arm fast bowler from Khyber Agency was one of the finds of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in 2018, but it was not until the HBL PSL a month later when the national selectors thought he was ready to play for Pakistan.

In his first season with the Qalandars, the young Afridi featured in seven games and took as many wickets but five of them came in one match alone when he ran through a powerful Multan Sultans batting line up with a spell of five wickets for four runs in Dubai.

Few weeks later, Shaheen made his international debut in the T20I series against the Windies in Karachi and since then has played three Tests, 10 ODIs and nine T20Is for Pakistan.

The highlight of Shaheen’s career to date has been nine wickets in a three-match ODI series against New Zealand in the UAE, which earned him the player of the series award.

During the same tour, Shaheen also joined his brother Riaz Afridi in the exclusive club of players who have represented Pakistan in Test cricket when he made his debut in the Abu Dhabi Test.

This year, Shaheen is part of Lahore’s squad as a player and Brand Ambassador.

Usman Khan Shinwari (Karachi Kings)

The left-arm fast bowler made his Pakistan debut two years before the inception of HBL PSL, but will always be thankful to Pakistan’s premier T20 tournament for his international comeback.

Usman was not part of Karachi Kings’ original squad in the second HBL PSL and came in as a replacement for the injured leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed. His performance in the tournament, especially

three for 32 against Zalmi in Sharjah, put him back on the selectors’ radar.

The year after, in 2018, Usman battled injury and made a successful return for the Kings. He ended up with 16 wickets in 10 matches, finishing as the highest wicket-taker for the Kings last season.

Usman made his ODI debut in 2017 and, in his very second match, rattled Sri Lanka’s top-order with figures of five wickets for 34 runs. Since then, he has accounted for 23 batsmen in ODIs at an impressive average of 17.47 and has also earned 15 caps in T20Is.

This season, Usman also had a successful stint with Melbourne Renegades –eight wickets at an economy of 6.14 – in the Big Bash League in Australia.

This year, Usman is a part of the Kings squad as one of their three Diamond category players.