PSL 11: Peshawar Zalmi Rope in Aaron Hardie as Gurbaz Replacement

Peshawar Zalmi have signed the rising Australian allrounder Aaron Hardie for the upcoming PSL 2026 season. The franchise secured the services of Hardie after Rahmanullah Gurbaz recently announced his decision to withdraw from the tournament.

Aaron Hardie is a talented Australian cricketer who has quickly made a name for himself as a complete allrounder. Having a vast experience of playing the Big Bash League, Hardie brings the expertise to perform with both bat and ball to win crucial matches.  

Peshawar Zalmi announced the signing of Aaron Hardie through a social media post, describing him as a proven match-winner who adds versatility to their PSL squad.

“After much anticipation, we are proud to announce Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie as our direct signing for PSL11. A proven match-winner, Hardie brings balance, power, and versatility to the squad.” described the caption of the Peshawar Zalmi announcement post.

Peshawar Zalmi went ahead with the signing of Aaron Hardie after Gurbaz abruptly announced his withdrawal from the tournament a few days ago. The Afghan batter said that he won’t be available for the upcoming PSL edition, as he will return to Afghanistan after the T20 World Cup to focus on his foundation work.

“Salam everyone, fans from everywhere. After the World Cup, I won’t be available for the PSL this season due to my schedule. I’ll be focusing more on my foundation work in Afghanistan. Thank you for all the love and support.” said Rahmanullah Gurbaz in a social media post.

After signing Aaron Hardie, Peshawar Zalmi will now focus on the PSL 2026 auction, which is scheduled to take place on February 11 in Lahore. It will be interesting to see which new players Zalmi will target at the auction, as they have spent PKR 162.4 million of their total PKR 450 million budget so far.