From Contenders to Collapse: What went wrong with Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2025?

[mominsaigol]

Since there’s already a thread discussing Multan Sultans (MS), I decided to start this one—because let’s face it, Peshawar Zalmi (PZ) is undoubtedly the second-worst team of PSL 2025.

From being semi-finalists last season to sitting second from the bottom this year, the decline has been dramatic. Here are some key reasons for their downfall:

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A) Saim Ayub’s Decline in Form​

Saim was a game-changer for Zalmi last season, averaging 31 with a strike rate of 157. However, this year his form has plummeted—he's averaging just 11 with a strike rate of 106.
Post-injury, he simply hasn’t looked the same. Without his explosive starts, Zalmi has clearly lost its X-factor.

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B) Babar Azam’s Stubbornness​

Babar’s continued insistence on opening in T20s, despite the format’s evolution, has cost Zalmi dearly.
His own form has been on a steady decline since the 2022 Asia Cup. From being PSL’s top scorer last year, he's now averaging just 23 with a strike rate of 117—well below par for a top-order anchor.

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C) Poor Captaincy and Leadership​

Babar’s captaincy continues to be underwhelming. Poor field placements, questionable bowling changes, and a lack of understanding of pitch conditions and DRS usage have haunted the team.
This isn’t new—these flaws have persisted since he took on captaincy in 2019.

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D) Mismanagement of Key Players​

Players like Mitchell Owens have been terribly mismanaged. With Saim out of form and Babar struggling, it made perfect sense to promote Owens to open.
Instead, he’s been pushed down to No. 7, only getting a promotion when the team faces near-impossible run chases of 220+.
This is no way to treat your X-factor. Owens should’ve been an automatic opener.

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E) Failure to Groom Young Talent​

Emerging players like Maaz Sadaqat continue to warm the bench. Why? Because of Babar’s reluctance to move from his opening slot and the team’s poor strategic vision.
Zalmi isn’t just losing matches—they’re missing opportunities to build for the future.

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From poor leadership to mismanaged talent and tactical rigidity, PZ’s collapse in PSL 2025 is the result of systemic issues, not just form.

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[BouncerGuy]

PZ took a hit because thier batting lineup has failed... Saim has been a bigger failure than babar this time and this thing has hurt them... Haris was pathetic as well.. TBH, I don't like hussain talat for t20s also... Bolwing lineup also looks mess.

There are problems in every department.

 

[Suleiman]

It’s PSL bro, just enjoy the show.

 

[Rana]

Point B is the main issue,

A building cannot be firm if the core pillars are wonky. Opening the innings with an anchor completely unbalances the side.

 

[cricfan432]

Maaz sadaqat is the real find, babar should anchor only in 120-150 targets otherwise try to hit or get out. And hussain talat needs a boot, they're benching abdul samad instead of hussain talat.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Babar & Saim have constantly failed & Haris has underperformed. They shot themselves in the foot by playing a potential future Australian opener in the middle order & then stumbled with their spinners. In terms of emerging picks which are the make or break in PSL teams, they got the best picks in Raza, Mehran & Sadaqat but they did diddly squat with them.

There are teams that are more than the sum of their parts & then teams which underperform despite having their bases covered & Zalmi fall in that category. I still feel that they can mount a late charge & add some interest to the league, United is struggling & Qalandars are well, Qalandars. If they manage to win their next game or two, it'll be chance for them to make it to the playoffs & anything can happen there.

On paper they have extra bowling options in Saim, Owens, Maaz & Talat and they should get at least 8-10 overs of these but they aren't doing so. This will help them strengthen the batting & only three pure bowling options will be required. Rana, Wood, & Alzarri can be the three main fast bowlers with Danyal as the backup if they cannot get all three of them in the team at the same time (I know there's one supplementary pick but still). TKC isn't good enough to play & Max should have been prioritized above him. It's just that they are light in batting & they haven't done anything to strengthen it & hence end up losing.

Something like this team could be a good team in the last stages of the league

Owen
Saim
Babar
Haris
Maaz
Max
Talat
Samad
Danyal
Wood
Joseph

This team has a lot of batting strength as well as a versatile bowling line up & should be the way forward, imo.

 

[mominsaigol]

PZ might turn it around, their not out of the race yet.

Only MS is

 

[TeymurBlake]

Babar & Saim have constantly failed & Haris has underperformed. They shot themselves in the foot by playing a potential future Australian opener in the middle order & then stumbled with their spinners. In terms of emerging picks which are the make or break in PSL teams, they got the best picks in Raza, Mehran & Sadaqat but they did diddly squat with them.

There are teams that are more than the sum of their parts & then teams which underperform despite having their bases covered & Zalmi fall in that category. I still feel that they can mount a late charge & add some interest to the league, United is struggling & Qalandars are well, Qalandars. If they manage to win their next game or two, it'll be chance for them to make it to the playoffs & anything can happen there.

On paper they have extra bowling options in Saim, Owens, Maaz & Talat and they should get at least 8-10 overs of these but they aren't doing so. This will help them strengthen the batting & only three pure bowling options will be required. Rana, Wood, & Alzarri can be the three main fast bowlers with Danyal as the backup if they cannot get all three of them in the team at the same time (I know there's one supplementary pick but still). TKC isn't good enough to play & Max should have been prioritized above him. It's just that they are light in batting & they haven't done anything to strengthen it & hence end up losing.

Something like this team could be a good team in the last stages of the league

Owen
Saim
Babar
Haris
Maaz
Max
Talat
Samad
Danyal
Wood
Joseph

This team has a lot of batting strength as well as a versatile bowling line up & should be the way forward, imo.

No spinner. No Yaqoob, Mumtaz or Muqeem.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

No spinner. No Yaqoob, Mumtaz or Muqeem.

Lahore ki pitch main there's not much for spinners. You can always replace Danyal with Mehran, Yaqoob, Muqeem or any other spinner if conditions are assisting spinners. My point was just that they need to strengthen their batting line up because the top just isn't firing.

 

[PakPremi]

Babar, Haris and Saim poor show along with lacklustre captaincy.