PSL 2025 draft - Williamson among seven New Zealanders drafted; Warner, Mitchell among Platinum picks

Right, so as we look to have taken an extended break from before the rest of the emerging rounds, we close off this blog. We've had lots of good player availability this time around, and a draft which appears to have run for several hours. Thanks for joining us, and see you soon!

The first emerging pick of the round

That rounds up the silver category

We get the Irish fast bowler back at the PSL with Multan Sultans again

Bit of star power from 2021 to supplement Qalandars' squad

The left-arm spinner is currently in Pakistan with West Indies Test squad

Wicketkeeper batter Andries Gous gets chosen. The former South Africa U19 player has become an efficient T20 globetrotter, and becomes the second American in PSL history, after fast bowler Ali Khan

Multan Sultans owner says they will use their right to match, and retain Tayyab Tahir

He toured South Africa with Pakistan's Test side and has played T20I cricket

He's been doing well at the BBL with the Brisbane Heat this year

This should be a popular pick in Karachi

Express pace from abroad remains in high demand. Nahid Rana put Pakistan to the sword in the sides' Test series last year, and it's clear he hasn't been forgotten.

He leaves the Qalandars to go to the Sultans

The former Peshawar Zalmi allrounder goes blue

An Australian allrounder joins the three-time champions

Express fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain goes to Multan Sultans. Their owner Ali Tareen was vocal about how Ihsanullah may never be able to be an express quick anymore, but Hasnain certainly is

The Pakistani power-hitter goes to Zalmi

"We do need a fast bowler and he's been in terrific form in the past," Mohammad Akram says. "We've been waiting for him."

They follow up their pick of Matthew Short in the Platinum category with a pace-bowling West Indian all-rounder

Pakistan fans were recently acquainted with the South African quick during the side's Test series in South Africa

Haider Azhar, the former Multan Sultans general manager, has a bit of a dig at his old team as he says it was "a surprise his team let go of him". To Karachi Kings he goes

It isn't his best format, of course, but remains notable that Kane Williamson, an absolute giant of this generation, did not get interest in the Platinum round, especially in a round where New Zealanders were picked hand over fist. As we gear up for the Diamon round, will KW get any interest?

Perhaps the most eye-catching pick of the Platinum round, we get the former Australian opener playing the PSL for the first time when he links up with Karachi Kings

And that brings to an end the Platinum phase of the draft.

TKS is a PSL regular who has spent the last four years with the Zalmi. Yet to win an England cap but has become a regular on the franchise circuit. He plays his county cricket for Somerset - and may be caught in the crossfire of the ECB's new NOC policy.

My goodness, it's New Zealanders galore! Finn Allen joins Quetta Gladiators as their next pick in the Platinum Category

PSL or Super Smash? We get an express New Zealand quick joining Karachi now

It's a Kiwi-centric draft so far, and Multan Sultans have added to it

Chapman has done well in white-ball cricket in the past during New Zealand's many tours of Pakistan, but this is his first time with the PSL

Peshawar Zalmi use their right to match! And that means he reprises his role with Zalmi

"He performed really well in Pakistan recently," Shaheen says. "And we need that kind of middle order batter"

While we wait for the draft to begin, a bit of a history lesson. The draft's being held at the Hazuri Bagh, built in 1818 in the style of the Mughal Gardens. It was built by Ranjit Singh, who is now buried in Lahore to celebrate his conquest of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond during his conquest of the north of the Indian sub-continent.

Multan Sultans' owner Ali Tareen says he always wanted the PSL to be held in the window where the IPL is played, because the players available are guaranteed to be available for the entirety of the event. "Players being available for a few games, I just hated it," he says

This, of course, is a landmark year for the PSL. It'll be the tenth year of a tournament that started off while it wasn't possible to host it in Pakistan. Ever since, it's become one of Pakistan's biggest sporting events, and managed to attract high-profile players from around the world.

Challenges do remain, with the PSL still unsure of the window it should operate in, and has of course now moved directly into a slot where it clashes with the IPL. This year also marks the final year of the 10-year lease that each individual owner took on for the PSL, with renegotiations set to happen after this season.