PSL 2023-24: Babar, Imad and Naseem headline star-studded team of the tournament

1. Saim Ayub (Peshawar Zalmi)
345 runs, 31.35 ave, 157.53 SR, two fifties, eight wickets, economy 7.45

Ayub's season was about as complete as it can get for a 21-year-old. He partnered up with Babar Azam for the most formidable opening combination of the season, with his explosiveness embellishing Zalmi's strong opening starts. Two fifties might sound like an indifferent return, but Ayub crossed 30 three times more, and the damage often lay in his strike rate. He added another potent layer to his formidable T20 repertoire, sometimes sending down a few tidy overs in the powerplay. He also picked up valuable top-order scalps.

2. Babar Azam (Zalmi)
569 runs, 56.90 ave, 142.60 SR, five fifties, one hundred

Well, what's new? Babar dominated the runs charts once more, topping that list for the third time in the last five seasons.. Ayub was the perfect foil alongside him, but Babar added an element to his own game too. This is now not only his highest run tally in the PSL but also his highest strike rate. The Zalmi captain showed he didn't have to sacrifice one for the other, and thrived as a sandwich between hard-hitting Ayub and Mohammad Haris.

3. Usman Khan (wk, Multan Sultans)
430 runs, 107.50 average, 164.12 strike rate, two fifties, two hundreds

Usman Khan was arguably the surprise of the tournament. A couple of years ago, he went unpicked and switched allegiances to the UAE but this time around lit up Multan Sultans. He wasn't in the starting XI at the beginning but ensured he was nailed on by the end with a breathtaking mix of devastation and accumulation.

He would finish behind only Babar in the run charts but at nearly twice the average and a much superior strike rate. He hit two of the season's four centuries and his runs in the final allowed Sultans to have a fighting total in the final.

4. Shadab Khan (capt, Islamabad United)
305 runs, 30.50 ave, 142.52 SR, three fifties, 14 wickets, economy rate 8.54

He didn't have an elite tournament as a bowler, but Shadab Khan's runs ensured his all-round combinations didn't go away. As Islamabad United captain, he came in at No. 4 in all but one match and demonstrated he was good enough to bat there. Three half-centuries and an impressive ability to attack spin after the field restrictions kept United moving. With the ball, his 14 wickets made him the fourth-best spinner, but an economy of 8.54 would be one to improve.

5. Rassie van der Dussen (Lahore Qalandars)
364 runs, 72.80 ave, 154.89 SR, three fifties, one hundred

Rassie van der Dussen was as close as Lahore Qalandars got to greatness, with the team's torrid season vastly different from the form he personally showed. Sometimes their lone runmaker, van der Dussen was near-invincible during the seven games he played with the Qalandars, making up for a misfiring top order with a dazzling array of shotmaking from lower down.

His unbeaten 104 was one of the best innings of the season and left the campaign with a player-of-the-match award in Qalandars' only win.

6. Iftikhar Ahmed (Sultans)
259 runs, 64.75 ave, 193.28 SR, one fifty, two wickets

With the highest strike rate of the season, Iftikhar Ahmed demonstrated he is still at his best in T20s. Most runs came as valuable cameos that either got Sultans out of trouble or stretched their advantage. Iftikhar truly demonstrated what an impact player was, and all that's best about him shone through in the final. He hit an unbeaten 20-ball 32 that kept them in the final before he chipping in with his only two wickets of the season.

7. Imad Wasim (United)
12 wickets, economy rate 6.60, 126 runs, 21.00 ave, 128.57 SR, one fifty

The player of the final, Imad Wasim stormed back into national reckoning with a sensational all-round season. The overs he sneaked in at the top for barely over run-a-ball were a total outlier. Imad was the steel to United's flair with bat in hand too, with handy contributions, none more so than an unbeaten 13-ball 30 that gave United a last-ball win to keep them alive in the group stages. He saved his best for the finale, becoming the first bowler to take five-for in a PSL final, and hanging around with bat in when the winning runs were hit.

8. Akeal Hosein (Quetta Gladiators)
15 wickets, 20.53 ave, economy rate 7.70

Quetta Gladiators' only entry in this list, Akeal Hosein provided reliability to his side's bowling attack. He rarely went for too many runs and almost always chipped in with wickets. The fifth-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, Hosein's value lay in his ability to bowl at any stage of an innings. He finished with the second-lowest economy among spinners.

9. Usama Mir (Sultans)
24 wickets, 15.87 ave, economy rate 8.13

The economy rate is skewed by one poor showing, but Usama Mir was the most prolific bowler of the tournament by a distance. No one else managed even 20 wickets, nor could anyone match his balls-per-wicket ratio of 11.7. Mir shook off an indifferent winter with the national side and found a level of control of his flight and variation that troubled every side. He was also responsible for the tournament's only six-wicket haul and went wicketless in just one of his 12 games.

10. David Willey (Sultans)
15 wickets, 20.40 ave, economy rate 7.46

Arguably the canniest draft pick of the tournament, David Willey's economy was second only to Imad. And no bowler who took more wickets comes close to being as economical as the Englishman. Willey gave Sultans dependency at the top or the tail of their bowling innings, and his variations on slowing pitches made him near-unhittable at times. Add his wicket-taking prowess, and he was one of the pillars in Sultans' impressive run to the final.

11. Naseem Shah (United)
15 wickets, 22.20 ave, economy rate 7.56

Naseem Shah is fine. That, in itself, is a win for a Pakistan bowler returning from a serious injury. But Naseem was more than fine. Leading United's attack, he demonstrated he's still the same bowler, in pace, accuracy, and mentality. He conceded 36 in his first game and was never as expensive again. Never one to hide, he opened and closed off United's bowling frequently, and bowled two of the seven maiden overs of the tournament. Don't forget the nine-ball 17 in the final that levelled the scores and teed up his younger brother Hunain to hit the winning runs.