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England Star James Vince Chooses PSL Over Country Cricket; Steps Down As Captain

Aakash Saini

James Vince [Source: @hantscricket/x]James Vince [Source: @hantscricket/x]

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Hampshire veteran James Vince will not be taking part in his team’s red-ball season later this year in a bid to prioritize his commitment to the Karachi Kings franchise in the PSL 2025 season. While Vince has stepped down as Hampshire’s County captain after nine years in charge, the 33-year-old will continue to lead the Hampshire Hawks in the upcoming 2025 edition of England’s Vitality Blast T20 competition.

It is worth noting that Vince was retained by the Karachi Kings franchise under the ‘Diamond’ category of players prior to the PSL 2025 player’s draft.

James Vince quits first-class cricket for PSL 2025

In a move that will enable him to play PSL 2025 season, James Vince has stepped down as Hampshire captain and quit first-class cricket overall to adhere to ECB’s new policy. As per ECB’s No-Objection Certificates (NOCs), the board will only allow white-ball specialist players to take part in overseas tournaments, barring IPL, that take place during the English season.

With Vince prioritizing only Hampshire’s T20 commitment this year through the upcoming Vitality T20 Blast 2025 season, the cricketer is now eligible to feature in PSL 2025 for the Karachi Kings.

As confirmed by Hampshire on January 15, the 33-year-old has penned a revised deal which will allow him to fulfil his obligations with the club’s T20 side as well as with the PSL franchise.

James Vince is currently in the UAE, representing the Gulf Giants franchise in the ILT20 2025 season. The cricketer even relocated to Dubai with his family after a series of unexplained attacks were made to his England home back during the 2024 County season. As per the Hampshire club, this factored into Vince’s deal revision ahead of England’s impending domestic home summer.

A right-handed batter, the Hampshire veteran has so far represented England in 13 Tests, 25 ODIs and 17 T20I matches. However, he played the last of those 55 internationals back in March 2023 against Bangladesh.