Javed Afridi confident of Zalmi's victory in PSL 2017

DUBAI: The star-studded team of Pakistan Super League, Peshawar Zalmi, has – once again - promised to entertain the fans by playing exciting cricket in the second edition of the league, which is starting next week.

Javed Afridi, the franchise owner and an avid cricket fan, has expressed confidence that they’ve improved a lot since the inaugural edition concluded and are a better-prepared side for the second edition.

“No one can give the guarantee that he will lift the trophy, but I am very confident that this time Zalmi’s team is the favourite to win the title. We are well prepared and much-improved side than the previous edition,” Afridi told geo.tv

Zalmi topped the group stage last year but lost in the eliminator to the eventual winners Islamabad. The team from KPK will be under the leadership of a new captain, Darren Sammy – who was handed over the captaincy by Shahid Afridi earlier.

“Sammy is a good captain, and along with Shahid and other members and coaching staff of the team, I am sure he’ll produce the best results for the team,” Afridi said.

The franchise Peshawar Zalmi will have services of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Eoin Morgan, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales and Samit Patel, along with the local favourite boom boom Afridi and the captain Darren Sammy.

And, Javed Afridi believes that his team is comprised of the best performers of the game.

The franchise also showcased its contribution towards corporate social responsibility ahead of the cricket action by supporting the students of Army Public School Peshawar and the under-treatment children at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

“We at Peshawar Zalmi believe in spreading smile. We started our campaign from APS Peshawar because we wanted to pay a tribute to the sacrifice of students in Pakistan’s war against terrorism. Similarly, by supporting SKMCH patients we just made a little attempt to make them smile,” Afridi said.

The franchise has already announced to take twenty under treatment children from SKMCH to Dubai during Pakistan Super League.

Afridi agrees that PSL is a very good addition to Pakistan cricket and it has started serving Pakistan cricket, adding that it will continue to provide cricket fresh talents every year.

“We have seen performers of previous editions making themselves to Pakistan’s international team. Playing alongside top performers of the world have also helped youngsters learn a lot in attempt to improve their skills,” said Afridi.

For now, Afridi has set his eyes on the opening match of Pakistan Super League, in which Peshawar Zalmi will face-off defending champions Islamabad United in Dubai.