The 8th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will get underway on February 13 with a match between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans. While the tournament opener will be played in Multan, the final will take place on March 19 in Lahore. The tournament will be held across four venues -- Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore and Multan -- in Pakistan. Ahead of the start of the tournament, Pakistan captain Babar Azam took on star pacer Shaheen Afridi in the nets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
In a video shared by Lahore Qalandars on their official Twitter handle, Shaheen was seen bowling in full-throttle to Babar, who was timing his shots to perfection.
Babar, who played for Karachi Kings over the last seven editions of the tournament, will now lead Peshawar Zalmi in the upcoming PSL season. He had joined Zalmi as part of a major trade deal.
"It is an honour for me to lead the franchise, and I'm excited about the new challenge," Babar had said after his appointment.
"Peshawar Zalmi is one of the best teams of PSL and has done well consistently over the past few years," he added.
Zalmi won the championship in 2017 and has had a steady run since, reaching the finals in 2018, 2019, and 2021, as well as the eliminator in 2020 and 2022.
Shaheen had led Lahore Qalandars to their maiden PSL title last season, playing a crucial role with both, ball and bat.
Notably, Babar is the all-time leading scorer of PSL.