Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight draft for the first time will be held in Karachi in December.

The announcement was made public by the PSL organisers on the tournament’s social media platforms.

The venue of the draft will be announced later, read the statement.

“The availability of all top players will make PSL 8 a good event,” said PSL director Usman Wahla.

The eight edition of the T20 tournament will be held at three venues – Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi – from February 9 to March 19.

Champions Lahore Qalandar will defend their title.

Top T20 cricketers worldwide have signed up for the league this season.

Four hundred and ninety-three players from full member and associate nations have made themselves available for the player draught, with 29 in the Platinum category and 81 in the Diamond (names below).

The maximum number of foreign players to register is from England (140). 60 from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan (43), West Indies (38), Bangladesh (28), South Africa (25), Australia (14), Zimbabwe (11), and Ireland (nine).

Foreign players registered in the top two categories.