‘Teenon me khelunga’: Babar Azam ends format debate after PSL win – Watch

chief batsman of pakistan Babar Azam He led Peshawar Zalmi to the 2026 PSL title, performing brilliantly on the field and on the podium, making a strong statement about his future across formats after a dominant campaign.Peshawar Zalmi beat Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to seal their first title since 2017. While the trophy ended the long wait, Babar’s strong stance across the three formats also attracted attention.“Teenon me khelunga, befikriye. Teenon ki taraf hai, aaptension na le…what do you want to ask. [I’ll play all three formats, don’t worry. I’m available for all of them, so you don’t need to stress about it… I know what you’re trying to ask]”, Babar said with a smile after the victory, his intentions very clear amidst the ongoing debate surrounding his T20 relevance.Babar’s bat can talkBabar’s words are backed up by a stellar season. He became the run-scorer with 588 runs in 11 games at an average of 73.50 and a strike rate of 145.91, including 2 centuries and 3 fifties. The performance not only gave Zalmi momentum for the title, but also silenced critics who questioned his status in the shortest format.When pressed further on format priorities, Babar doubled down on his philosophy.“Listen, players should not decide…the role of players should play out. I think every player should play cricket. Not just focus on white ball or T20. You get a lot of experience in red ball…you get patience…when you play four-day cricket or domestic cricket, you get experience of playing long innings. That’s why you get the Tenon format. Want to play, who will help you in every format [Look, it’s not really for the player to decide — a player’s job is to play. In my opinion, every cricketer should play all formats. It shouldn’t be about focusing only on white-ball or just T20 cricket. Red-ball cricket gives you a lot of experience… it builds patience… it teaches you how to play long innings, especially when you play four-day or domestic cricket. That’s why you should play all three formats — it helps you in every format]”.watch:Hardy performed well in the final and Zalmi won the championshipAlthough Babar led throughout the game; Aaron Hardy He starred in the final with a sensational all-round performance. The Australians took 4/27 to dismiss Hyderabad for 129 before smashing an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls to lead Zalmi home in 15.2 overs.Despite falling early at 40/4, Hadi hit a match-winning knock of 85 with Abdul Samad (48) to turn the tide of the match.“This is a very big achievement for me, Peshawar Zalmi and all the fans,” Babar said. “We performed really well as a team throughout the entire game … every player executed the plans they were given.”Hyderabad, leader Marnus Labuschagneshowed promise but faltered after a strong showing, losing wickets in clusters and failing to post a competitive total.