The 2023 edition of the Pakistan Super League has begun amid much fervour, with Lahore Qalandars defeating Multan Sultans on the last ball of the game by just 1 run. One of the batsmen to watch out for as the tournament progresses is Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who will be leading Peshawar Zalmi.
The Pakistan captain, in spite of being one of the leading batsmen in T20 cricket, has always been criticized for his cautious approach to the innings, wherein he does not hit enough boundaries. He has a moderate strike rate of 121.13 in Pakistan’s premier domestic T20 competition, even though he is the highest scorer in the history of the PSL. However, in a training session for the Peshawar Zalmi, Babar was seen in a completely different avatar as he smacked the ball left right and centre.
In fact in the training session, the Pakistan skipper hit a total of 9 sixes, including 6 consecutive maximums. This has led many o speculate that Babar Azam might be given a new role to play in the PSL.
Babar Azam used to play for the Karachi Kings in the PSL for the majority of his PSL career. Having started for Islamabad United in the 2016 eidition, Babar Azam represented the Karachi based side in the PSL from 2017 to 2022. Before the 2023 edition began, Peshawar Zalmi roped in the Pakistan captain in a trade that led to Shoaib Malik and Haider Ali into the squad of the Karachi Kings.
Babar has 2413 runs in the PSL, thus becoming the highest run-getter in the history of the competition. He will first be seen in action in the 2023 edition of the PSL as the Peshawar Zalmi take on his former side Karachi Kings in their first game of the competition on February 14.
