Peshawar Zalmi break silence on Rahmanullah Gurbaz's PSL withdrawal

KARACHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, Peshawar Zalmi, on Saturday issued a clarification after their direct signing of Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz announced his withdrawal from the tournament, scheduled to run from March 26 to May 3.

The 2017 champions had announced roping in the Afghan wicketkeeper batter for an undisclosed amount on Thursday, but the 24-year-old, earlier today, pulled out of the highly anticipated 11th edition of the marquee league, citing 'personal commitments'.

"I will not be available for the PSL due to some personal commitments. After the World Cup, I will be returning to Afghanistan," he said in the video.

"I'll be focusing more on my foundation work in Afghanistan. Thank you for all the love and support," Gurbaz wrote in the caption of his post.

Hours later, Zalmi, in a detailed statement, clarified that Gurbaz's signing was done after he received No Objection Certificates from both the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), and also that it complied with the PSL guidelines.

Zalmi further stressed that he was among the best available options on the "provided list" of players, stating that no consideration beyond merit, team requirements and due process was involved in the decision.

"We would like to clarify to our valued and loyal fan base that the recent direct signing of Afghanistan cricketer Mr. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was completed strictly after he received full NOC clearance from both the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Afghanistan Cricket Board. At the time of selection, he was among the best available options on the official list provided, and his signing followed the prescribed process accordingly," Zalmi said in their statement.

"We further wish to clarify that this decision was taken purely on professional and cricketing grounds, in full compliance with Pakistan Super League regulations, PCB guidelines, and the established framework of the HBL PSL. No consideration beyond merit, team requirements, and due process was involved."

The 2017 champions concluded by announcing that their latest direct signing will be announced in due course.

Notably, prior to the direct signing, Peshawar Zalmi retained four national cricketers, including star batter Babar Azam, ahead of the historic players auction, scheduled to be held on February 11.

Babar leads the list in the Platinum category with a retention price of PKR 70 million, followed by Sufiyan Muqeem in Diamond (PKR 44.8 million), Abdul Samad in Gold (PKR 28 million) and Ali Raza in the Emerging category (PKR 19.6 million).