After a great run in the league stage, Zalmi lost a cliff-hanger against the Gladiators before bowing out of the first edition of the PSL in their eliminator against the eventual champions United.
Clad in yellow and blue the Zalmi outfit struck a chord with their huge Army of fans in the first season and more of the same is expected with their star studded outfit for PSL 2017.
For the second season of the PSL, Zalmi have made a tweak at the top and the team’s leadership baton has been handed over from the charismatic all-rounder Shahid Afridi to the most successful T20I captain Daren Sammy.
The West Indian all-rounder led his team to the 2012 and 2016 WT20 titles and is known for his incredible motivational skills and passion as a leader, attributes that helped him earn unprecedented success as a captain at the highest level of the game.
Sammy has a solid squad at his disposal, the likes of Afridi, Eoin Morgan, Marlon Samuels and Tamim Iqbal are big names in the crash, bang and wallop format and have the ability of turning a game on its head with their power packed performances.
Sammy also has a host of talented Pakistani match winners who provide balance to the team, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz played vital roles in the team’s ascent to the top of the league table in the 2016 season.
The experienced quartet is further bolstered by the presence of middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood who was imported from Lahore Qalandars; Maqsood will replace Shahid Yousuf with an aim of providing some quick runs especially with his ability of hitting the ball long and hard.
Left-hander Haris Sohail is also well and truly on the road to recovery after a long layoff, the southpaw is an exciting addition to the Zalmi set-up and must be aiming to reproduce some of the performances which made him a permanent feature of the Pakistan team during the 2015 World Cup.
The strength of the batting line-up is enhanced further with the powerful back up in the shape of West Indian Andre Fletcher who can don the wicket-keeping gloves besides providing a quick start during the power play overs at the start of the innings.
Zalmi enter the tournament with a strong bowling line-up with English T20 fast bowler Chris Jordan expected to spearhead the attack with Wahab, Junaid, Sammy, Afridi, Imran Khan Junior providing great variety , skill and depth to franchise’s bowling ammunition.
Afridi was arguably the biggest crowd attraction especially among the Zalmi diehards last season and once again his presence is likely to galvanize his team and their passionate fan base.
Afridi and Sammy are likely to drive the team forward in their bid of winning the coveted PSL 2017 trophy, rest assured a Boom Boom whirlwind innings will lit up Dubai and Sharjah stadiums, Afridi showed glimpses of his prowess during his fighting innings against United in the Eliminator last season, Zalmi fans would love to see him unravel with more consistency in PSL 2017.
