Gudakesh Motie, the West Indies spinner, was brilliant for West Indies during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The left-arm spinner was the leading wicket-taker for the Windies in the major tournament, picking up 10 wickets in the seven games he played.
Gudakesh Motie is reportedly set to withdraw from the Pakistan Super League (PSL). As per ESPNcricinfo, the spinner from the Caribbean nation decided to pull out of PSL 11 as soon as he was able to return home from India. The Windies team was stuck in India for nearly over a week after they lost to India in their final Super 8 game of the tournament.
Gudakesh Motie pulls out of PSL due to IPL
They were stuck due war in West Asia. They were only able to secure commercial flights back home in the past two days due to the airspace being closed or limited. Gudakesh Motie was signed by Lahore Qalandars for the upcoming edition of the PSL.
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Gudakesh Motie is set to withdraw from the Pakistan Super League
The decision to pull out comes after West Indies were only able to secure commercial flights back home in the past two days due to airspaces being closed or limited
Full story: https://t.co/2ITLg81Jiq pic.twitter.com/EhbIiQSWJS
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 13, 2026
The young spinner has also been picked by the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Motie might not pull out of IPL, keeping in mind the rules that he might not be able to feature in the next two auctions if he pulls out of the IPL, without any injury concerns.
Dunith Dunith Wellalage replaces Motie
Lahore Qalandars will sign Dunith Wellalage as the replacement of the Windies spinner. The former had a decent T20 World Cup, picking up 8 wickets for Sri Lanka, and the economy was under 8 as well. He is a like-for-like replacement for Gudakesh Motie; however, Wellalage has more firepower in his batting.
There can be more foreign players who might be pulling out of the PSL and IPL as well due to the travel turmoil following the T20 World Cup, which will have a further impact on the availability of West Indian players in the PSL and IPL. Motie was the only member of their World Cup squad to have been signed by the PSL.
Lahore Qalandars to defend the PSL
The PSL is set to begin on 26th March. The 11th edition of the league has introduced two new franchises, in the form of Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindi Pindiz. Now the league has eight franchises.
The Lahore Qalandars are the defending champions, having won three of the previous four titles, including a thrilling final at the Gaddafi Stadium last year. They will be hoping to win yet another title this season. They will be playing the opening day against the new franchise, Hyderabad Kingsmen.
Previously, Blessing Muzarabani also pulled out of the PSL, as he is reported to join the IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman for the upcoming season.
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