Darren Sammy and co. won the 2017 edition of the PSL at Gaddafi Stadium. In 2018 with a vastly different squad, can he once again lead his men to the summit in March at National Stadium, Karachi?

By Hadi Rizvi (18th February, 2018)

Winning a tournament is hard enough. But, if past records of previous T20 tournaments are anything to go by, defending a tournament win is even harder. There is always added pressure on the defending champions of any tournament, having to deal with the weight of expectations. However, Peshawar Zalmi will be hoping they have assembled a squad capable of lifting the 2018 PSL trophy under the night sky at the famous National Stadium in Karachi, which will be hosting its first high profile game since 2009, on March 25th.

One of the biggest personnel changes for Peshawar Zalmi was their loss of former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who played a big part in last year’s victory, to Karachi Kings. However, the defending champions will be hoping they have found an adequate replacement to him in the form of now T20 specialist Dwayne Bravo, who has most likely played his last game for West Indies. The Trinidad-born all-rounder has plenty of T20 experience, having played in several T20 leagues around the world. The Javed Afridi owned franchise has also retained Mohammad Akram as Head Coach.

Darren Sammy will once more be the man leading Peshawar Zalmi on the field. The St Lucian is adored by Pakistanis due to his role in attempting to bring International Cricket to Pakistan. He was captain in the PSL final last year in Lahore and later on in 2017 returned to Lahore, where he was representing the World XI side in the 3 match series. Not many would be questioning the decision of him being retained as captain, he will know many of the Zalmi players well from the previous editions of the Pakistan Super League and he has led West Indies to the World T20 twice. On top of that, he is a very dangerous batsman, capable of changing a game in a matter of a few balls and a handy bowler as well.

Peshawar Zalmi feel they have the right experience of experience and youth.

Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and Tamim Iqbal will make up the top order, and as seasoned professionals, will be expected to lay a strong foundation for the middle and lower order, which consists of the likes of Darren Sammy and Chris Jordan, who, when on song, can hit sixes for fun. Hammad Azam has benefited from a good domestic season by being picked by Zalmi and he is also capable of hitting a long ball. With a good PSL, he may find himself very close to a Pakistan recall.

Haris Sohail only played 3 matches in the previous edition, having missed the first one completely due to a long term injury. He has been in good form for Pakistan since his comeback and Peshawar Zalmi will be expecting a lot from the 29-year-old, who is primarily a batsman but is more than capable of turning his arm over as well. There is another left handed all-rounder in the squad as well in the form of Shakib al Hasan. The Bangladeshi is the number 1 ranked all-rounder in all 3 formats of the game and is equally capable of winning a match with the bat or the ball.

Three young players that fans will be keeping a close eye on are Mohammad Asghar, Sameen Gul and Khushdil Shah. Asghar rose to prominence in the PSL and his exploits have resulted in him being picked for Pakistan’s Test squads, but he is yet to actually play a match for the national team. With Raza Hasan back from his ban, there is plenty of competition for the left-arm spinner’s role in the Pakistan team, so Asghar will have even more motivation to do well for Zalmi this year. Pace bowler Sameen Gul, only 19 years old, has an astonishing First Class bowling average of just 15.51 and will be hoping to replicate his red-ball skills into the shorter format. Khushdil Shah has been in great form recently; the left handed batsman amassed 389 runs from just 7 games in the recently concluded Regional One-Day Cup while also picking up 7 wickets. Zalmi will be hoping he can be a surprise package in this edition.

On the bowling front, who else to begin with other than Hasan Ali. He didn’t have a great tour of New Zealand, but he is one of the most exciting bowlers in the world and is 5th in the ICC ODI rankings. The 24-year-old, also known for his unique celebration, may miss the initial matches due to injury and he would certainly be a big miss but he should be fit for the majority of the tournament. Chris Jordan will be plying his trade once more for Zalmi this season and he is also one of the best fielders in the world. Hasan Ali and Chris Jordan in tandem will play an important role in the death as their yorkers as well as their variations will be key in limiting the runs scored by the opposition in the latter end of their innings’.

One weakness of Zalmi is their lack of experienced pace bowlers. Hasan Ali and Chris Jordan are both big names but apart from those two, their fast bowling stocks seem a bit thin as the likes of Sameen Gul are promising, but very inexperienced. With Hasan Ali doubtful for the first few games, other teams will be looking to exploit the lack of experience in the pace bowling reserves.

Overall, Peshawar Zalmi have put together a good squad which should have good chemistry as the bulk of last year’s winning team have been retained. However, T20s are very hard to predict so factors like this may go out of the window once the teams step onto the pitch. On the slow low pitches of UAE, Zalmi will definitely feel they have adequate spin options. Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Asghar can form a formidable combination whereas the likes of Haris Sohail and Khushdil Shah can chip in with a few overs as well. Mohammad Hafeez isn’t banned from bowling in the PSL and he has proven before he has the knack of breaking partnerships. They will be hoping pitches aren’t too pacer friendly as they don’t have too much depth in their pace bowling reserves.

Prediction: With Darren Sammy as captain, they are capable for going all the way again.

Player to Watch: Hammad Azam seemed to be fading away but with a good domestic season, he is knocking on the selectors doors and will be hoping to stake a claim for a place in the Pakistan National team.

Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 2018: Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Dwayne Bravo, Shakib al Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Tamim Iqbal, Darren Sammy (c), Hasan Ali, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, Saad Nasim, Taimoor Sultan, Sameen Gul, Ibtisam Sheikh, Khushdil Shah.

Supplementary: Andre Fletcher, Riki Wessels, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Arif.

Cover: Dwayne Smith for DJ Bravo and Tamim Iqbal, Liam Dawson for Shakib al Hasan, Umaid Asif for Hasan Ali.

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