In PSL season, Wanindu Hasaranga won’t be playing for Quetta Gladiators because Sri Lanka wants to control his workload. Hasaranga was only partially eligible because he had six games still to play before his departure on March 3; nonetheless, the team acknowledged that he has been completely ruled out of the league and that they are currently seeking for a replacement.
At the start of the PSL, Hasaranga was supposed to join the squad, and after his tenure, Afghanistan’s Qais Ahmad was supposed to take over. Even though Gladiators still have seven games left in their group stage schedule, Hasaranga’s absence has forced them to play Qais in two of their games.
Hasaranga “wouldn’t ask” for a No-Objection Certificate, according to SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, because he had local obligations with the National Super League and international series to play in New Zealand. There is also the upcoming IPL, which given his performance last year and the money he makes at the event, is likely to be a focus even though neither SLC nor Hasaranga’s management explicitly acknowledged it. The main problem is workload: the IPL and national responsibilities are a given, and there is a lot of domestic pressure to participate in SLC’s local tournaments, especially the four-day ones, pushing the PSL down the priority list.
Having lost six games the previous year, the Gladiators entered this season in terrible shape. They have the fewest victories (10) among all franchises over the past three seasons and haven’t advanced further than the first round of the playoffs since 2020. Last year, Islamabad United outperformed them on net run-rate (-0.708). (-0.069). Out of the three games they played this season, they have already lost two.
Kusal Mendis, who Lahore Qalandars had recruited to take Jordan Cox’s place, is also currently unable to play. Mendis has officially participated in Sri Lanka’s red- and white-ball preparations for that tour because he is a member of the Test team. Despite being selected by a franchise, it is obvious why he cannot play in the PSL because of his international obligations. Shai Hope, the skipper of the West Indies for ODIs, has been found by Qalandars as Mendis’ replacement.
After having to abruptly cancel his Hundred contract with Manchester Originals, Hasaranga has now been denied the chance to play in a franchise league twice in the past eight months.
