This year will be PSL's best, says Zalmi captain Sammy

Zalmi will play their first match against Quetta Gladiators today.

DUBAI (Dunya News) – Peshawar Zalmi captain Darren Sammy said the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be the best year of the tournament. Talking in an exclusive interview, Sammy said he wants the PSL to be successful and claimed that his team have what it takes to win the championship.

Zalmi will play their first game against Quetta Gladiators on Friday (today). The match will be held in Dubai and start at 09:00 PM (PST). Here’s what Darren Sammy said in his interview:

Q. How is the dressing room atmosphere of the yellow storm so far after the practice sessions & matches that have taken place?

A. We as a team know what we have in our dressing team. It’s about preparing ourselves for the tournament and so far the practice sessions have been going good. Peshawar always encourage the togetherness, I think that’s the first thing we try to do, we make sure we get everybody jell in really well quickly so that when we go on the park it becomes a little easier. But in terms of the technical aspects to the game, Kami looks good, Maqsood looks good, all the bowlers are looking quite good. It is going to be a difficult task trying to come up with the eleven to go out and represent the Zalmi and try to win cricket matches, which is the good thing though.

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Q. What are your comments about the boys in your squad?

A. We have included Pollard, Misbah, Maqsood into the lineup, and a few emerging players. Apart from that the core of our team is still there and we will build our squad around that, so it’s about going out there and playing a brand of cricket that is entertaining and hopefully we play the final on March 17. It’s not going to be easy because all the teams are pretty good.

Q. How is the inclusion of Misbah-ul-Haq beneficial for the team?

A. It’s all about experience. With the wealth of experience he will bring to the dressing room, we will go a long way. He has captained Pakistan for a number of years and obviously on the field he will add that extra bit of experience, keeping guys calm when the pressure is on comes in very handy. Throughout the years, throughout the seasons Peshawar has really not relied on one person to do the job, it’s always been about the team and I encourage the guys to go out and express themselves, play a brand of cricket that shows we never give up. I think we’ve shown over the years that we’ve played that brand of cricket. Hopefully we could do that again.

Read: PSL 2019: Glitzy opening ceremony concluded in Dubai

Q. What are the preparations for the 1st match against the Quetta Gladiators?

A. We’ve been preparing both physically and technically. Mentally, the team is in a good space. Most of our guys have been playing cricket whether in Pakistan, whether in Bangladesh Premier League so it’s a good thing. Again, it’s about what we do in the middle and I always like to focus on our team. I always tell the guys if we do what we do well, not many teams will beat us. We have what it takes to go out and win that competition, but it’s going to be a total team effort.

Q. Any message for Zalmi fans?

A. We are the number one fans in the PSL and I expect to see all of the Zalmi fans in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. When we play here make sure you come out and paint the stadium yellow because I want to see that yellow storm, and I can’t wait to go to Karachi to experience all our fans there again. All in all, I just want the PSL to be successful. Come out and support some good cricket. I think this year will be the best year because all the teams have some really good players and any team could win, but I want the yellow storm to win. 

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