The Sydney Sixers have made one of the biggest signings in Big Bash League (BBL) history by adding a famous Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam.
Babar, after not being selected to play for Pakistan's T20 International (T20I) team, will now play in all matches of the 2025-26 BBL season for the first time.
The 30-year-old player has scored over 14,000 runs in international cricket and was named the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year in 2022 and the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year in both 2021 and 2022.
Not only this, Babar was also the second-highest run scorer in T20 international cricket.
Moreover, he is the fastest player in the history to score 5,000 runs in ODIs, achieving this milestone in only 97 matches.
Babar Azam shares joy over new signing and playing with cricket idol:
After signing, Babar expressed, "It's an exciting opportunity to play in one of the world's best T20 leagues and to be a part of such a successful and respected franchise."
He further shared in a video message, "Can't wait to share dressing room with my favourite batter Steve Smith and meet my crazy fans. See you all soon."
Ahead of the upcoming draft on Thursday, June 19, each team is allowed to sign one overseas player but the Sixers are the only men's team that hasn't signed any foreign player.
Other Pakistani players are also included among new names available for selection in draft including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan.
Sydney Sixers squad so far for BBL 15:
Sean Abbott, Babar Azam, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith.
