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Peshawar Zalmi has retained ace batter Babar Azam for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11, the franchise confirmed on Tuesday.
Zalmi shared the much-anticipated retention update in a social media post with an animated poster.
“Locked in and confirmed. Here’s the Yellow Storm shaping up for #HBLPSL11,” the caption of the post read.
Babar Azam (Platinum) has been retained, whereas the ace batter Saim Ayub was released as per the new framework of the auction system.
Saim Ayub joined the outfit in the 2022 season and played 33 matches, amassing 860 runs at a strike rate of 152.48.
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Besides Babar, Sufiyan Muqeem (Diamond), Abdul Samad (Gold), and Ali Raza (Emerging) also secured their spots in the team ahead of the auction.
It is worth noting that PSL is set to move to an auction model, marking a shift from the traditional draft system.
Under the new structure, each franchise is allowed to retain up to four players, with one player per category.
Moreover, this time around, teams could not retain up to eight players, along with additional provisions such as mentors, brand ambassadors, and the Right to Match (RTM) option.
The PCB has also abolished the mentor, brand ambassador, and RTM clauses altogether, streamlining the squad-building process ahead of the auction.
For the unversed, the PSL 11 will get underway on March 26, 2026, and will mark Faisalabad’s first-ever stint as a host city. The venue will join Karachi, Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, expanding the league to five host cities.
