Tanvir Ahmed: “If Babar Azam goes to the IPL, he will be the most expensive player in the IPL and will be taken on [as a] direct signing there too”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed believes that batsman Babar Azam would be the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) if he were permitted to participate in the tournament.
Pakistan players have not been allowed to feature in the IPL due to strained political relations between India and Pakistan.
Tanvir added that Azam would not even need to enter the IPL draft, as one of the franchises would directly sign him to their squad.
“If Babar Azam goes to the IPL, he will be the most expensive player in the IPL and will be taken on [as a] direct signing there too,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam was recently involved in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he made 91 runs in six matches at an average of 22.75 and a strike-rate of 112.34.
Pakistan then took on Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series, but the 31-year-old was not picked in the team.
Azam is now captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and started off with 39 runs against the Rawalpindiz.
The Zalmi’s next match against Islamabad United was washed out.
They will return to action on April 8 when they go up against the Hyderabad Kingsmen in Karachi.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 11: Babar Azam (captain), Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Subhan, James Vince, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Brian Bennett