KARACHI: Former champions Peshawar Zalmi on Thursday announced the direct signing of Afghanistan wicketkeeper batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz ahead of the historic Pakistan Super League (PSL) player auction to be held on February 11.
The 2017 champions made the announcement via their official social media handles by sharing a graphic poster of the Afghanistan international wearing a traditional turban with mountains in the background.
The poster features a popular Pashto phrase ‘Bagheer Rakle’, meaning welcome.
“We are proud to confirm the direct signing of Afghanistan’s star wicketkeeper-batsman (Rahmanullah Gurbaz),” the franchise captioned the post.
“Explosive with the bat. Lightning fast behind the stumps. A gun fielder with extraordinary power. A warm welcome to Salmi fame,” it added.
Notably, Zalmi did not disclose the contract fee for Gurbaz, who has made his international debut since 2019, playing two Tests, 52 ODIs and 83 T20Is for the Afghanistan men’s cricket team.
Gurbaz is one of the most sought-after Afghan cricketers in franchise leagues around the world, featuring in the cash-strapped Indian Premier League (IPL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), SA20 and ILD20.
The 24-year-old has played all three PSL seasons, representing Multan Sultans in 2021, while his remaining two matches came with three-time champions Islamabad United in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
In his budding PSL career, Gurbaz has so far played 15 matches and scored 318 runs at a poor average of 22.71 with the help of a half-century.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz will join star Pakistan batsman Babar Azam along with Subian Mukeem, Abdul Samad and Ali Raza who were retained by Peshawar Zalmi in the Platinum, Diamond, Gold and Silver categories respectively.
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