PSL to open mid-season trade window for 48 hours

PSL will open a mid-season trade window later this week to allow each team to exchange two unused players and restructure their teams for the remainder of the tournament. The window will open for 48 hours, allowing teams to negotiate with each other subject to players' own consent.

Before the season, all franchises had agreed upon a provision that any player inactive for four games until Friday's matches would be eligible for the transfer. According to the rule, teams are bound to exchange players in the same category and pay scale on which they were bought originally.

Each team so far has at least five unused players and will have the opportunity to trade two other players who have not found a spot in the XIs of their respective teams.

The window is likely to open immediately after Friday's doubleheader, by when every team will have played four games each. It's unclear who are the frontrunners to make the switch, but the new rule will be a major opportunity for every team to rejig their squad. The deal, however, requires the concerned players to agree to the switch.

"We have seen in the past that teams often carry players that could potentially add value to another team," Imran Ahmad Khan, Head of Player Acquisition and Management said. "This mid-season trade window could help teams find some more balance during the tournament and provide game time for a player who would otherwise miss out. We are also constantly thinking of ways to engage with our fans and this mid-season trade window will provide them with some more excitement during the tournament."

The idea was pitched last season, but it was never implemented due to a time crunch. In November 2018, a player draft took place after each team was allowed to retain up to ten players each. Islamabad United retained the maximum of ten, while the other teams retained eight players.

This new trade window works differently from the draft. Players like Aaron Summers, a sensational Australian fast bowler whose is looking for a break with Karachi Kings, might consider a switch since he is in a team that has Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari and Sohail Khan. Similarly, Haris Sohail is in Lahore Qalandars but hasn't found a place in their playing XI. He might find a different outfit mid-season with more assured chances of making it into the playing side.

The final eight games of PSL 2019 will be played in Pakistan from March 7 onwards, with Lahore hosting three and Karachi five games, including the final. The first leg is being played across the UAE in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, with league leaders Quetta Gladiators unbeaten thus far.