Kamal Ghorui
Pakistan’s premier batter Babar Azam delivered both on the field and at the podium as he led Peshawar Zalmi to the PSL 2026 title, making a powerful statement on his future across formats after a dominant campaign.Peshawar Zalmi defeated Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, sealing their first title since 2017. While the trophy ended a long wait, it was Babar’s emphatic stance on playing all three formats that grabbed equal attention.“Teenon me khelunga, befikre rahiye. Teenon ki taraf hai, aap tension na le..jo aap puchna chah rahe hai [I’ll play all three formats, don’t worry. I’m available for all of them, so you don’t need to stress about it… I know what you’re trying to ask],” Babar said with a big smirk and smile after the victory, making his intentions crystal clear amid ongoing debates around his T20 relevance.Babar’s bat does the talkingBabar’s words were backed by a stellar season. He finished as the leading run-scorer with 588 runs in 11 matches at an astonishing average of 73.50 and a strike rate of 145.91, including two centuries and three fifties. The performance not only powered Zalmi’s title charge but also silenced critics who had questioned his place in the shortest format.When pressed further on format priorities, Babar doubled down on his philosophy.“Dekhiye yeh player ne nahi decide karna..player ka kaam he khelna. Mere khyaal se har player ko, har cricket khelne chahiye. Yeh nahi ki sirf white ball par ya T20 par focus karna chahiye. Red ball se aapko bahut experience milta hai..aapme patienece aata hai..aapko lambe pariya khelne ka experience aata hai jab aap four-day khelte hai ya domestic cricket khelte hai. Isliye aapko teenon format khelna chahiye, aur who aapko har format me help karta hai [Look, it’s not really for the player to decide — a player’s job is to play. In my opinion, every cricketer should play all formats. It shouldn’t be about focusing only on white-ball or just T20 cricket. Red-ball cricket gives you a lot of experience… it builds patience… it teaches you how to play long innings, especially when you play four-day or domestic cricket. That’s why you should play all three formats — it helps you in every format].”WATCH:Hardie stars in final as Zalmi clinch titleWhile Babar led from the front throughout the tournament, it was Aaron Hardie who starred in the final with a sensational all-round performance. The Australian picked up 4/27 to bowl out Hyderabad for 129 before smashing an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls to guide Zalmi home in 15.2 overs.Despite an early collapse to 40/4, Hardie stitched a match-winning 85-run stand with Abdul Samad (48) to turn the game on its head.“It’s a very big achievement for me, for Peshawar Zalmi and all the fans,” Babar said. “Throughout the tournament we’ve performed really well as a team… every player executed the plans they were given.”Hyderabad, led by Marnus Labuschagne, showed promise but faltered after a strong powerplay, losing wickets in clusters and failing to post a competitive total.
