Babar Azam played a match-winning innings for Peshawar Zalmi against Quetta Gladiators at the National Stadium Karachi last night. Buoyed by Babar’s unbeaten inning of 71 runs, Zalmi continued their unbeaten run and recorded their sixth win in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season.
After the match, PSL CEO Salman Naseer was captured making the traditional gesture to protect Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam from the ‘evil eye’. It didn’t take long for the moment to grab the attention of cricket fans on social media platforms.
PSL CEO Salman Naseer performs ritual to free Babar Azam from evil eye
Babar Azam remains a superstar in Pakistan. No matter what his form is, Pakistan cricket fans are always eager to see the batsman in action. In recent times, the top-order batsman has faced a lot of criticism due to his batting style in the Twenty20 format.
PSL CEO Salman Naseer kept away the evil eye of Babar Azam. 💛
– A fun conversation after the match. 😄 pic.twitter.com/gSOqj55RTZ
-Salman. (@TsMeSalman1_) 15 April 2026
With several tremendous innings, his strike rate has become one of the talking points in the format. Even in the current PSL 2026 season, Babar had to face questions related to his low strike rate.
Against Quetta Gladiators, the Peshawar Zalmi captain scored an inning of 71 runs with a strike rate of 139.22. The 51-ball inning was adorned with ten fours. With 8 wickets in hand and 9 balls remaining, Zalmi easily achieved the target of 155.
Azam silenced those critics who pointed fingers at the batsman’s strike rate.
Despite the criticism, Babar Azam continues to dominate among the international stars in PSL history and has achieved several major achievements in this year’s edition. in 11th In the PSL edition, the top opening batsman has etched his name in the history of the league by scoring 4,000 runs and becoming the fastest player to reach 12,000 runs in T20 cricket.
Before the match against Quetta Gladiators, in a press conference, Azam had to explain his batting style in the shortest format of the game, where most batsmen try to perform with an elusive strike rate.
The 31-year-old player said that his batting style and strike depends on the situation of the match. His priority as a batsman is to immediately assess the situation rather than display a pure aggressive approach.
The batsman told about his batting style in T20
Babar Azam told the media, “You have to play in different ways at different numbers. What kind of guard to play with at that time, you also have to look at the scoreboard and the strike rate also creates a lot of trouble. I believe that first of all you have to assess the conditions.”
The Peshawar Zalmi captain further added, “You have to assess that the wicket is not the same every day. You cannot play the same way every day. You have to face challenges; the opposition team also comes with their homework done and you cannot hit your favorite shots freely. On a good day, things will fall into place; otherwise, you have to work hard for it.”
After defeating Quetta Gladiators, Zalmi remains on top in the points table after playing 7 matches. With 6 wins and one match lost to rain, Zalmi has 13 points and a net run rate of +2.404.
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