Dasun Shanaka To Blessing Muzarabani: Players Who Abandoned PSL For IPL

Franchise-based cricket is the flavour of cricket for the next two months as the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League is about to get underway and will dominate cricket calendars from March 28 to May 31.

Given the behemoth the IPL has become, most of the big names around the world feature in it, and this two-month window is locked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with no major bilateral cricket series taking place during this time.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which used to conduct its league, Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February, along with world cricket, tried to take advantage of this empty window by conducting its own league besides the IPL, to rope in those global cricketers who got unsold in the IPL.

However, this move by the PCB is now backfiring on them as the leftover players, who were supposed to take part in the PSL, are now snubbing the league to head over to the IPL as injury replacements.

Post the recently concluded T20 World Cup, there have been reports of many players pulling out of the IPL entirely or for some significant part because of injuries, which has forced the franchises to look for replacements.

It has resulted in many players withdrawing from the PSL just days before the start of the tournament, which brought PCB's move to compete with the biggest league in the world under scrutiny.

Let's take a look at, who are the key players who have pulled out of PSL to join the IPL:

Blessing Muzarabani

Zimbabwe's tall and lanky pacer Blessing Muzarabani was the first player to make the headlines by snubbing PSL, after he was proposed an IPL contract by the Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman.

The 6 feet 8 inches fast bowler, who was earlier signed by Islamabad United for INR 36.44 lakhs, terminated his contract to play in the IPL for INR 75 lakhs.

Dasun Shanaka

Another big name, who's confirmed to have terminated his PSL contract to play in the IPL, is Dasun Shanaka. The Sri Lankan T20 skipper was picked by Lahore Qalandars for PKR 75 lakhs but has now been raked in by Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for injured Sam Curran

Spencer Johnson

Australia's Spencer Johnson was a major "Platinum" category signing in the PSL, picked up by the Quetta Gladiators. Though, he pulled out of the league citing personal reasons, there are strong reports suggesting that he is the primary replacement choice of CSK for the injured Nathan Ellis.

Gudakesh Motie

The West Indian spinner, Gudakesh Motie, withdrew from the PSL after being stranded in India due to flight restrictions due to the Middle East war.

He was picked up by Lahore Qalandars for PKR 1.10 crore. However, strong reports are going on that he's in contention to join the Lucknow Super Giants as a replacement for the injured all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga.

Corbin Bosch (2025)

Corbin Bosch was the trailblazer of his trend as he snubbed PSL last year after being picked in the drafts to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He was even handed a one-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board from the PSL for the move.