KARACHI: Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi on Saturday issued a statement after Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz announced his withdrawal from the March 26-May 3 tournament.
The 2017 champions announced the Afghanistan wicketkeeper batsman for an undisclosed sum on Thursday, but the 24-year-old pulled out of the much-anticipated 11th marquee league, citing ‘personal commitments’.
“I will not be able to participate in the PSL due to some personal commitments. After the World Cup, I will return to Afghanistan,” he said in the video.
“I will focus more on my foundation work in Afghanistan. Thanks for all the love and support,” Gurbaz wrote in the caption of his post.
Hours later, Zalmi clarified in a detailed statement that Gurbaz had signed only after getting a no-obligation certificate from both the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACP) and that it complied with PSL guidelines.
Zalmi further insisted that he was among the best options available in the “provided list” of players, adding that no considerations beyond merit, team needs and due process were involved in the decision.
Afghan cricketer Mr. We would like to make it clear to our valued and loyal fan base that Rahmanullah Gurbaz was recently signed directly after receiving full NOC clearance from both Pakistan Cricket Board and Afghanistan Cricket Board.
We would like to further clarify that this decision is purely professional and taken on cricket grounds in accordance with Pakistan Super League regulations, PCB guidelines and the established structure of HBL PSL. No consideration was given beyond merit, team requirements and due process.”
The 2017 champions concluded by announcing their latest direct signing to be announced in due course.
Ahead of direct signings, Peshawar Zalmi retained four national cricketers, including star batsman Babar Azam, ahead of a historic player auction scheduled for February 11.
Babar leads the Platinum category with a retention price of PKR 70 million, followed by Sufyan Mukeem in Diamond (PKR 44.8 million), Abdul Samad in Gold (PKR 28 million) and Ali Raza in the Emerging category (PKR 19.6 million).
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