The eleventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has concluded in exciting fashion. And what a season it has been! At the centre of it all was Babar Azam, who led Peshawar Zalmi to their second PSL title in style.

Zalmi had previously lifted the trophy back in 2017, when they defeated Quetta Gladiators in the final. This year, however, the victory felt even more special — not just for the team, but for their captain, Babar Azam.

A captain’s comeback

Before the tournament began, there were doubts about Babar Azam’s form. Critics questioned whether he could deliver when it mattered most. But as great players often do, Babar responded in the best way possible — with runs.

He ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer, amassing a remarkable 588 runs at an average of 73.5 and a strike rate close to 146. His performance included two brilliant centuries and three half-centuries, making him the standout batter of the competition.

More importantly, he led from the front. Under his captaincy, Peshawar Zalmi dominated the tournament, losing just one match and excelling in every department — batting, bowling and fielding.

Cricket returns to the crowds

The tournament began on March 26 under unusual circumstances, as matches were played without spectators due to security concerns. However, the excitement returned in full force when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the return of crowds ahead of the playoffs.

Fans rushed back to the stadiums and every match from that point onward was sold out, bringing back the electrifying atmosphere that makes the PSL so special.

Hyderabad Kingsmen: The surprise package

While Peshawar Zalmi lifted the trophy, the journey of Hyderabad Kingsmen won hearts across the country.

Led by Australian player Marnus Labuschagne and coached by Jason Gillespie, their campaign began on a disappointing note, with the team losing their first four matches. But instead of giving up, they staged an incredible comeback — winning seven of their next eight games. Along the way, they knocked out former champions Multan Sultans and Islamabad United to reach the final.

Although they fell short in the grand finale, their fighting spirit and never-give-up attitude earned them a huge fan following.

Stars of the tournament

The PSL once again showcased outstanding individual performances, led by Babar Azam in batting and Sufyan Muqeem in bowling. Not only did Babar Azam lead the charts with his incredible consistency, but he also equalled Fakhar Zaman’s record of most runs in a single PSL season.

With 588 runs in 11 innings, he managed to beat the second-best batter by 38 runs, who was, incidentally, from his own team, Peshawar Zalmi. That batter was none other than Zalmi’s Sri Lankan import Kusal Mendis, whose 550 runs came at an average of 55, at a strike rate of 168, and with the help of one century and four fours.

Lahore Qalandar’s Fakhar Zaman was in prime form during the tournament and ended up as the third-highest scorer with 401 runs in 8 innings, at an average of over 55 and a strike rate of over 155. Wicket-keeper batter Usman Khan, who was instrumental in the emergence of Hyderabad Kingsmen, ended the tournament with 389 runs in 13 matches, and was closely followed by Multan Sultans’ openers Sahibzada Farhan and Steve Smith, who managed 380 runs each.

All these batters scored a tonne or more during PSLXI, lighting up the tournament. Mendis’s 109-run innings off 52 balls against Karachi Kings on 9 April was the highest innings of the tournament, which was followed by Sahibzada Farhan’s 106 off 57 balls and Steve Smith’s 106 off 50 balls against Hyderabad Kingsmen.

Fakhar Zaman’s 103 off 51 balls against Quetta Gladiators and Usman Khan’s 101 off 74 balls were match-winning knocks by far, but Babar Azam’s twin centuries put him ahead of the rest of the centurions. While one came against Islamabad United in the playoffs, the other was instrumental in his team’s victory against Quetta Gladiators in the lead-up to the playoffs.

What Babar Azam was to Peshawar Zalmi as a batter, Sufyan Muqeem was to the same team as a bowler. The left-arm Chinaman bowler proved his worth with 22 wickets in 11 matches, with many delivering match-turning spells.

Not only was his economy rate amongst the best in the tournament, but he was also one of the few bowlers to take 3 or more wickets in an innings regularly. Whenever his captain was in need of a breakthrough, he approached Sufyan, who delivered, ending the event with an amazing strike rate of 12.

Hyderabad Kingsmen’s pacer Mohammad Ali was second in the wickets list with 20 wickets in 12 matches, and was followed by Islamabad United’s Shadab Khan and Hyderabad Kingsmen’s Hunain Shah, who ended the event with 17, 17 wickets apiece in 10 matches.

Lahore Qalandars’ Shaheen Afridi and Karachi Kings’ Hasan Ali didn’t have a great PSL season, but used their experience to end the event with 16 and 15 wickets in 10 and 9 matches, respectively.

One player who was a revelation as a bowler during PSLXI was Peshawar Zalmi’s Iftikhar Ahmed, who may not have ended the tournament as a leading wicket-taker, but opened the innings with his bowling on a few occasions and even took 4 wickets for 21 runs in a match against the eventual finalists, Hyderabad Kingsmen.

The best bowling figures, however, were taken by Hyderabad Kingsmen’s Asif Mehmood and Lahore Qalandar’s Shaheen Shah Afridi. While the latter blew away Karachi Kings with his four wickets for 18 runs in one of the earlier matches of the tournament, it took the former just two overs to achieve the same figures in a match against Islamabad United.

Other bowlers to take four wickets in an innings during the tournament included Hunain Shah, Hasan Ali, Aaron Hardie, Faisal Akram, Sufyan Muqeem, and Ali Raza. As for the fielders, Kingsmen’s skipper Marnus Labuschagne took the most number of catches — 13 in 13 matches — during the PSLXI, and was followed by Zalmi’s Farhan Yousuf and Sultans’ Steve Smith with 10 catches in 11 matches each.

Youngster Maaz Sadaqat, with his 9 catches in 12 matches, and Chris Green, with his 8 catches in 10 matches, were next on the list, proving that sharp fielding can change the course of a game.

The future is bright

One of the most exciting aspects of this PSL season was the emergence of young talent, especially batters, since the national team is always in need of good ones. Young batters like Sameer Minhas (349 runs in 11 matches), Hasan Nawaz (291 runs in 10 matches), Maaz Sadaqat (260 runs in 12 matches), Shamyl Hussain (215 runs in 9 matches), and Abdul Samad (132 runs in 11 matches) impressed with their run-making ability and might soon reclaim their place in the national side.

As for the bowlers, pacers impressed more for a change this season. On one hand, there were Hunain Shah (17 wickets in 10 matches), Akif Javed (12 wickets in 8 matches), Ali Raza (10 wickets in 5 matches), Mohammad Ismail (10 wickets in 7 matches) and Mohammad Basit (10 wickets in 6 matches), while on the other, there were spinners like Sufyan Muqeem (22 wickets in 11 matches) and Arafat Minhas (9 wickets in 11 matches) who showed glimpses of brilliance and promise.

Among the most remarkable individual performances of the tournament were Ali Raza’s fiery spell that resulted in a hat trick against Karachi Kings and Hunain Shah’s last-over in the second eliminator, where he successfully defended six runs in the final over.

It would be interesting to note that amongst all the wicket-keepers from around the world, the one with the most dismissals was from Pakistan — Usman Khan — who ended with 13 dismissals in as many matches. His resurgence as a dependable bat would surely help the Pakistan side, who need to prioritise youngsters over experience to show the world that the next generation is ready to shine on the big stage.

A season to remember

PSL 2026 will be remembered as the tournament where Babar Azam silenced his critics and truly wore the crown of a king. With thrilling matches, dramatic comebacks and emerging stars, this season had everything a cricket fan could ask for.

It was also the first season to host as many as eight teams, and if all goes well next year, most of these teams might get to play in their home grounds, especially the finalists — Hyderabad Kingsmen and Peshawar Zalmi. If that happens, the tournament will break records and excite many fans who might not have watched a single match in the stadium yet.

And with that, the future of the Pakistan Super League looks brighter than ever.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 9th, 2026