Sports

Peshawar Zalmi strengthen squad with new foreign signing

Former champions Peshawar Zalmi have brought in Zimbabwean player Brian Bennett for the 11th season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), set to take place from March 26 to May 3.

The addition was announced by Zalmi owner Javed Afridi through a post on his social media platform X.

“We welcome Brian John Bennett from Zimbabwe to the Zalmi family,” Afridi wrote.

The right-handed batter has been a formidable performer for Zimbabwe in international limited-overs cricket. He has played 58 T20Is, scoring 1,888 runs at a healthy strike rate of 143.68, including 12 fifties and one century.

Bennett was also the sixth-highest run-scorer in the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, held in India and Sri Lanka.

He amassed 292 runs in six matches at an average of 146.00 and a strike rate of 134.56, with three half-centuries to his name.

The 22-year-old is set to make his debut not only in the PSL but also in any overseas franchise league.

Earlier, Zalmi also signed Bangladesh opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who became the third Bangladeshi player to join the squad, alongside Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam.

The upcoming PSL season marks a landmark edition as the league expands to eight teams. New entrants Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindi join the fray, with a total of 44 matches to be played over 39 days.

In a significant shift from initial plans, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has scaled back the tournament’s logistics. Matches will now be held exclusively at two venues—Karachi and Lahore—and played behind closed doors.

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced the revised arrangements during a media conference, explaining that the decisions followed a joint meeting with franchise owners and consultations with the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who serves as the Patron-in-Chief.

Six cities, including Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, had originally been in contention to host matches.

Updated Peshawar Zalmi squad for PSL 11:

Babar Azam (c), Sufiyan Muqeem, Brian Bennett, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Haris, Khalid Usman, Abdul Subhan, James Vince, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf and Shoriful Islam.

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