Haris Rauf giving a flying kiss to Babar Azam during the Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026) match between Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday, April 25, caught people’s attention.
The matter became even more interesting when two Pakistani teammates came face to face. However, whatever happened after Babar’s wicket shocked everyone and grabbed the headlines as the PSL 2025 game gave a complete masala moment to the fans.
Haris Rauf’s cheeky farewell to Babar Azam goes viral
The incident occurred during Match 38 of PSL 2026. Babar Azam was looking in great form and forming a strong partnership with Michael Bracewell. Both the batsmen made a partnership of 94 runs for the third wicket, before Haris Rauf took this wicket in the 16th over.
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On the very first ball of the over, Rauf bowled a fast ball which went through Babar’s defense and hit the stumps. The Peshawar Zalmi captain was out after scoring 59 runs off 45 balls, which included five fours and a six, with Rauf breaking a dangerous partnership.
Rauf, known for his aggressive bowling, did not celebrate loudly against his Pakistani teammate. The fast bowler showed a nice but cheeky side. Rauf gave a serene smile before sending a flying kiss towards Babar. This unexpected gesture caught everyone’s attention and went viral online.
Flying kiss to Babar Azam by Haris Rauf as a farewell. pic.twitter.com/aUZYbdJA50
– Sherry. (@CallMeSheri1_) 25 April 2026
However, the Pakistan Super League and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have not reacted to the viral moment as it was not an offensive or provocative gesture. It was a playful exchange between two Pakistani teammates rather than a breach of Article 2.5 of the PSL Code of Conduct.
Michael Bracewell’s 83 runs in vain, Lahore Qalandars chase big target
Earlier in the match, Peshawar Zalmi had a bad start. They lost James Vince for 10 and Kusal Mendis for 7 in the powerplay. After this Babar and Bracewell brought the team back into the game. Well, after dismissing Babar, Rauf came back in the last over and dismissed Bracewell also.
Also read: Ball tampering again in PSL 2026? Babar Azam participated in the controversial moment!
The New Zealand batsman played a brilliant inning of 83 runs in 45 balls with the help of eight fours and four sixes. Along with this, Rauf took two wickets for 46 runs in his four overs. Peshawar Zalmi ended their innings at 199 for 4 against Lahore Qalandars.
Later, Lahore Qalandars achieved the target in 19.3 overs thanks to Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 58 off 47 balls against Zalmi. Charith Asalanka (33) and Daniel Sams (35*) also made valuable contributions in Lahore Qalandars’ 6-wicket win over Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL 2026 match.
Babar Azam blamed the bowlers for the crushing defeat
After losing the match, Babar Azam said in the post-match presentation, “Sometimes you need a wake-up call like this, and you have to accept it because we didn’t execute our plans well in bowling and fielding. When we started batting, the pitch was a bit fast. We wanted to take our time and build partnerships, and in the end, we wanted our power hitters to perform, and we managed to do that.” We scored around 200. We didn’t bowl well tonight, but you have to face these things sometimes and you learn from these experiences.