London, December 8, 2025: Pakistan star batter Babar Azam on Sunday credited the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for shaping his professional cricketing journey, describing the league as a platform that “means a lot” to him.
Speaking at the PSL Roadshow at Lord’s Cricket Ground, Babar recalled learning from and sharing the dressing room with some of the world’s top players during the league’s early years. He said the experience helped him grow both as a cricketer and as a person.
“Journey has been really good, and also the experience. As a youngster, when I played [in the PSL], the only thing on my mind was to learn from the top players as much as I could,” Babar said. “I shared the dressing room with many big players, and it helped me a lot. I used to go and talk to established cricketers like [Kumar] Sangakkara, Chris Gayle, [Andre] Russell, and Mahela Jayawardene. Observing them and learning from their experience helped me a lot.”
Babar also highlighted his encounter with his idol AB de Villiers, calling it a “fan moment” made possible by the PSL. “The main thing was that I met my idol because of the PSL. I asked him a lot of things, and that was like a fan moment for me,” he shared.
The right-handed batter made his PSL debut for Islamabad United in the inaugural 2016 season, later representing Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi in multiple editions. He described the tournament as a launching pad for his international career, which has seen him emerge as one of Pakistan’s leading batters.
“Means a lot. As a youngster, it was a platform for me. Now, as a senior player, I advise youngsters to take this opportunity, groom themselves as players, and learn as much as they can,” Babar said.
