Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam will lead Peshawar Zalmi in season eight of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the franchise announced on Wednesday.
In one of the biggest trades of the tournament, Zalmi roped in Babar in the Platinum category and the first pick in the supplementary round in exchange for Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik, who moved to Karachi Kings in the Platinum and Diamond categories, respectively.
Babar, who is the top batter in the ODIs and the No. 4 in ICC’s T20 rankings, left Karachi Kings recently after representing the franchise for six seasons. Babar played for the Kings from 2017 to 2022 before joining Zalmi. He played for Islamabad United in the opening season of the tournament.
The prolific right-hander is the all-time highest scorer of PSL, with 2,413 runs in 68 matches.
However, he could not prove his mettle as a skipper. Leading Karachi Kings in the last edition, Babar lost nine matches on the trot, creating a record for losing most matches in a PSL season.
HBL PSL-8 to run from Feb 2023
PSL 8 draft
Earlier today, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the players' draft for PSL season 8 will take place in Karachi on December 15.
The announcement has been made after consulting with all franchises, said PCB.
The tournament's director Usman Wahla said PSL 8 will be bigger with the induction of some prominent names.
"Some big cricketers' availability ensures a bigger and better PSL season this time around," he said.
PSL 8 is scheduled from February 9 to March 19 in Karachi, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. Lahore Qalandars will defend their title.
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