No Azam Khan as PSL 9 Team of the Tournament confirmed

| 2025-01-16 04:17:54

The 25-year-old was named Wicketkeeper of the Tournament

Azam Khan collecting Wicketkeeper of the Tournament award. - PCB

Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine Team of the Tournament has been confirmed and surprisingly Islamabad United's Azam Khan is not part of it.

The panel led by Director International PCB Usman Wahla, including independent members Urooj Mumtaz, Mark Butcher, Danny Morrison and Tariq Saeed, selected the side

The 25-year-old was named Wicketkeeper of the Tournament but he found no place in the team which includes Multan Sultans' captain Mohammad Rizwan as 12th man.

Meanwhile, PSL 9 winning captain Shadab Khan was named as the captain as he led United to the third PSL title. He was also named player of the tournament for his all-round performance, which included 305 runs and 14 wickets from 12 matches.

Along with Shadab, two Islamabad United players – Imad Wasim and Naseem Shah also made it to the team of HBL PSL 9. Imad, played a vital role in United’s winning campaign in PSL 9, as his five for 23 in four overs and unbeaten 19 off 17 balls in Monday’s final led his side to a two-wicket win over Multan Sultans.

21-year-old Naseem Shah was another vital cog in United’s success. The right-arm pacer bagged 15 wickets at an economy rate of 7.56.

Multan Sultans’ who played their fourth PSL final (2021, 2022,2023, 2024) on Monday night, had five players making it to the playing XI, which included three foreign players – Usman Khan (430 runs, 2x100s, 2x50, strike-rate 164.12), Chris Jordan (six wickets, 8.42 eco.) and David Willey (15 wickets, 7.46 ec0.).

The two local players from the Sultans’ side are leg-spinner Usama Mir, who topped the bowling charts with a record 24 wickets from 12 matches, with six for 40 being his best figures, and Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored 259 runs with a strike rate of 193.28.

The team also includes Karachi Kings emerging category player Muhammad Irfan Khan, who scored 171 runs at a strike rate of 140.16 and also bagged eight catches.

Peshawar Zalmi’s opening pair of Babar Azam and Saim Ayub also made it to the HBL PSL 9 Team. Right-handed Babar topped the batting charts with 569 runs from 11 matches at an average of 56.9 and a strike rate of 142.6. He also struck one century and five half-centuries during the course of the tournament.

22-year-old Saim scored 345 runs from 11 matches at a strike rate of 157.53. Zalmi player also bagged eight wickets and was named the all-rounder of the tournament for his heroics with the bat and ball.