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Cricket Australia have confirmed the final list of players who will be travelling to UAE this week to take part in the remainder of the sixth edition of Pakistan Super League. While a few big names have backed out, as many as eight Aussie stars will feature in the remaining 20 matches of PSL 2021 which is set to commence in the month of June with all the matches expected to be played in Abu Dhabi.
List of Aussie players featuring in PSL 2021
Usman Khawaja is one of the most high-profile names who is set to play the remainder of the tournament for Islamabad United. The left-handed batsman will join Fawad Ahmed in the Shadab Khan-led franchise. Meanwhile, the star Aussie trio of James Faulkner, Ben Dunk and Callum Ferguson will be seen playing for Lahore Qalandars.
While it was expected that only five players from Australia will take part in rest of the tournament, three more cricketers were signed up by PSL franchises in the latest draft held this weekend. Jack Wildermuth and Jake Weatherald have been picked by Quetta Gladiators whereas Tim David has been signed by Lahore Qalandars.
Chris Lynn and Ben Cutting pull out of the tournament
Quetta Gladiators' star all-rounder Ben Cutting decided to pull out of the tournament, having been in bio-secure bubbles for about 6-7 months since the start of BBL 10. "I love the PSL and playing for Quetta but in the current climate of bio bubbles and quarantine it's difficult to do everything," Cutting told cricket.com.au. The 34-year-old has stated that he needed a mental break from quarantine and promised to be back for any tournament that comes up after this.
Meanwhile, other Aussie players who have opted out of the tournament include Chris Lynn, Joe Burns and Daniel Christian. Notably, Christian will instead re-join Nottinghamshire for the T20 Blast tournament in the UK.