- Sammy believes his contribution to Azam’s game is tactical in terms of captaincy.
- He also discussed his association with the PSL over the years.
- The PSL 8 opening ceremony and final will take place on February 13.
Daren Sammy, the head coach of Peshawar Zalmi, has lavished praise on the franchise’s captain, Babar Azam, ahead of the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Azam, according to the former West Indies captain, is one of the top players in the world.
“It’s great to have him aboard in the Zalmi camp. It’s fantastic to have Babar in the locker room. “He’s one of the world’s top batters,” Sammy told PCB Digital.
“I usually tell people that I don’t consider myself a coach. I consider myself a tactician. From a technological standpoint, there isn’t much more you could add to Babar’s game.
My contribution might be tactical in terms of captaincy, leadership, and working with men from various locations. How do you deal with them? “How do you get a group of men to perform?”
Here’s what you have been waiting for!💛
Zalmi Skipper @babarazam258 hits the nets with Peshawar Zalmi ahead of #HBLPSL8⚡Stay Tuned for more of these Peshawar Zalmi Net Sessions powered by @TCLPak #Zalmi #YellowStorm #ZKingdom #ZalmiDeluxe #TCL #WitnessGreatness pic.twitter.com/l2Z2vuZx9u
— Peshawar Zalmi (@PeshawarZalmi) February 8, 2023
Sammy also discussed his association with the PSL over the years, as well as being a household figure in the country.
“It’s been an incredible adventure. I’ll never forget the first time I saw this number, I believe it was +92, it was a young Javedi Afrid sending me a message and welcome me to the Zalmi team following the auction. That was the beginning of a wonderful relationship,” he remarked.
“The voyage has been so smooth that I feel at ease. My home will always remain Zalmi. You can see Zalmi blood gushing out of my skin if you cut it. That has been the course of the journey.
“Because of Peshawar Zalmi, I’ve become a household name. It is something I will always be grateful for, and the cherry on top was being able to help bring cricket back to the city through the PSL.
“When Marlon Samuels, [Dawid] Malan, Chris Jordan, and I won the cup and flew away in 2017, we stated it was a modest step in the right path. To be a part of something bigger than cricket by hastening [the return of international cricket to Pakistan] with Australia, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.
“It’s something amazing for the fans here to see Babar Azam make a hundred and Shaheen Shah Afridi grab five wickets. They probably never saw Misbah [ul-Haq] achieve a Test hundred here, but it makes me happy to know I was a part of something great.”
The PSL 8 opening ceremony will take place on February 13 in Multan, preparatory to the tournament opener between the 2021 winners Multan Sultans and the defending champions Lahore Qalandars; the closing ceremony and final will take place on March 19 in Lahore, which will also host play-offs.
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