Peshawar Zalmi suffered a major blow a day before embarking on the journey to defend their Pakistan Super League (PSL) title as world number one all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan, who is recovering from a finger injury, was ruled out of the league's third edition beginning on Thursday.

"Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan will not take part in PSL 2018 due to a hand injury. Sabbir Rahman from Bangladesh [has] joined Peshawar Zalmi as Shakib's partial cover," informed the league's official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

Shakib, who was injured during the final of a tri-nation series last month, was already scheduled to play only the initial few matches as national commitments did not allow for him to play the whole season.

Rahman will also only be available for the first few games and Liam Dawson has already been engaged to cover for the rest of the league.

The first game of the PSL will be played between defending champions Zalmi and newcomers Multan Sultans tomorrow, with the final scheduled to be held in Karachi following play-offs in Lahore.