Nazar na lagay: PSL CEO’s gesture for Babar Azam goes viral

A lighthearted moment off the field has taken over timelines after Salman Naseer was seen doing nazar utarna for Babar Azam in a clip that quickly went viral following Peshawar Zalmi’s win over Quetta Gladiators.

The video captures a warm and humorous exchange during a public appearance, with fans loving the very desi gesture — often used in Pakistan to ward off the “evil eye” — especially given Babar’s red-hot form.

And honestly, the numbers back it up.

Babar recently became the fastest player to reach 12,000 runs in T20 cricket, remains the only batter in PSL history to cross 4,000 runs, and is now the fourth player overall to register 100 half-centuries in the format.

On the field, Zalmi continued their dominant run in Pakistan Super League (PSL 11), securing their sixth win at the National Bank Stadium.

After opting to field first, Zalmi bowled out Gladiators for 154 in 20 overs. Hassan Nawaz top-scored with 37, while Rilee Rossouw made 26 and Khawaja Nafay added 20.

Sufiyan Muqeem and Abdul Basit led the bowling charge with three wickets each, while Iftikhar Ahmed chipped in with one. Chasing 155, Zalmi made it look easy, reaching the target with nine balls to spare and just two wickets down. Babar anchored the innings with an unbeaten 71 off 51 balls, striking 10 fours. Mohammad Haris added 35, Kusal Mendis chipped in with 21, while Aaron Hardie finished things off with an unbeaten 18.

For Gladiators, Alzarri Joseph and Saud Shakeel managed one wicket each but couldn’t slow Zalmi’s charge.

With this win, Zalmi now sit comfortably at the top of the table with 13 points from 7 matches — six wins and one washout. But for many fans, it wasn’t just the cricket — it was that perfectly timed nazar utarna moment that summed up the vibe.