Afghanistan batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz has withdrawn from the upcoming eleventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), citing “personal commitments”.
Gurbaz took to Instagram to upload a video in his native language Pushto, explaining the reason for his withdrawal.
“I will not be available for the PSL due to some personal commitments. After the World Cup, I will return to Afghanistan,” he said in the video.
“I’m going to focus more on my foundation work in Afghanistan. Thank you for all the love and support,” Gurbaz wrote in the caption of his post.
His announcement comes just days after Peshawar Zalmi announced him as their immediate signing ahead of the PSL player auction, scheduled for February 11.
The 2017 PSL champions confirmed the signing of the Afghanistan international on February 5 via their official social media handles.
The announcement featured a graphic poster of Gurbaz wearing a traditional turban against a mountainous backdrop. However, the franchise has not disclosed the signing amount.
Gurbaz has been a key figure in the Afghanistan men’s cricket team since his international debut in 2019, representing his country in two Tests, 52 ODIs and 83 T20Is.
He is also one of the most sought-after Afghan players in global franchise leagues, having played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), SA20 and ILT20.
In the PSL, Gurbaz played for three seasons, with the likes of Multan Sultans in 2021 and Islamabad United in 2022 and 2023. In 15 PSL matches, he scored 318 runs at an average of 22.71, including a half-century.
Meanwhile, Peshawar Zalmi has retained key players ahead of the PSL 11 auction.
Babar Azam tops the list in the Platinum category with a retention of Rs70 million, followed by Sufiyan Muqeem in Diamond (Rs44.8 million), Abdul Samad in Gold (Rs28 million) and Ali Raza in the Emerging category (Rs19.6 million).
The franchise has spent Rs162.4 million of its total Rs450 million auction budget so far.
The eleventh edition of the Pakistan Super League starts on March 26 and ends on May 3.
