For the highly priced six franchises namely Kerala Kings, Maratha Arabians, Punjab Legends, Colombo Lions, Pakhtoons and Bangla Tigers, the nod from the sport's controlling body in Pakistan comes as a big relief. With the Pakistani stars in the fray the tournament will have a top of the table international flavour to it.
"It is quite likely that after the confirmed list of the PCB contracted players are released officially, we will be lining up the in-form Babar Azam and perhaps Mohammed Amir or allrounder Shadab Khan if they have not been lined up as top bracket players elsewhere," said Kerala Kings co-owner Hussein Adam Ali.
"We want to be able to provide our fans with a great four nights out at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in December."
All the other Test playing nations - barring India - have agreed to allow their contracted players to appear for the Sharjah extravaganza.
"Kerala Kings have made their intentions very clear on getting the best possible players especially from such a rich pool of highly talented limited overs players," said Shafi Ul Mulk, the TCL chairman and competition founder.
"Pakistan with their series against Sri Lanka in the UAE in the final limited overs stages, have put up sterling shows in the abridged versions lately and this has come to be of a great advantage in our choice making process along with our skipper Eoin Morgan," he said.
The talent pool available allows a limited number of icons, first class and third category players apart from a UAE national team player for each side. Shaji said the players' draft is scheduled for November 5 in Dubai, adding that it will be a grand event with live TV coverage across the world.
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