LAHORE: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has joined Peshawar Zalmi for eighth edition of the PSL.
Babar represented Islamabad United in the inaugural edition of the PSL. Before PSL 2017 players’ draft, Babar was moved to Kings. Since then, he represented the Kings in six PSL editions and also captained the franchise this year.
The tournament will run from February 9 to March 19 next year and will be played at four venues — Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan.
In one of the biggest trades of the tournament, 2017 champions Zalmi snapped Babar in the Platinum category and the first pick in the supplementary round for Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik who move to Karachi Kings, the winners of the 2020 edition, in Platinum and Diamond categories, respectively, before the trade and retention window closed on Friday evening.
During the trade and retention window, a side can assemble up to eight players before the PSL Player Draft, in which it can increase the squad side to 18 players — three each in Platinum, Diamond and Gold categories, five Silver, two Emerging and up to two Supplementary categories.
Babar, who was at Islamabad United before moving to Karachi Kings, is the only player in the Platinum category for Peshawar Zalmi.
Wahab Riaz and Sherfane Rutherford are in Diamond, while Mohammad Haris, who has lightened up the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with his fearless batting, is in Gold.
