Daren Sammy has been reappointed Peshawar Zalmi’s head coach, taking over from James Foster who was in charge of the side during PSL 2022.
Sammy has been a mainstay for the franchise since PSL’s inception in 2016, and has been one of the more recognisable overseas faces for the league. He started as vice-captain and took over the leadership following Shahid Afridi’s resignation in 2017.
He was an integral part of the team as a player until 2020 when the franchise made a mid-season shuffle by replacing him with Wahab Riaz as full-time captain. Sammy then had a two-year stint as head coach of the team in 2020 and 2021.
Sammy also brings with him the experience of having coached St Lucia Kings in the CPL. In the most recent CPL, Sammy guided Kings to the playoffs, where they lost to eventual champions Jamaica Tallawahs in the Eliminator.
Zalmi had won the title in 2017 and finished runners-up in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In 2022, they lost to Islamabad United in the Eliminator.
After a PSL governing council meeting in September, the PCB announced that the 2023 season of the PSL will start on February 9, and the final will take place on March 19.
The T20 World Cup begins just days after the IPL ends and presents another opportunity for India to end their ICC trophy drought. ESPNcricinfo’s Raunak Kapoor sat down with a man who played a key role in winning that title in 2007 to figure out who has a strong enough case to be on the flight to the West Indies and the USA and who still has work to do.
India’s batting still revoles around Rohit Sharma, who will be captain, and Virat Kohli, who in this IPL, has shown that he has expanded his game and is willing to hit boundaries from the get-go. Pathan insists that Kohli is absolutely vital in a big tournament and debunks a few myths about his strike rate.
The biggest bone of contention in the squad is who will be the wicketkeeper. Rishabh Pant is only just coming back from a life-threatening accident and multiple surgeries. Jitesh Sharma has shown lots of potential but doesn’t have the body of work yet in international cricket. Then there’s also KL Rahul who has the versatility to bat wherever he needs to.
Irfan also believes that any team with aspirations of winning a World Cup must have “a gun left-arm fast bowler” and throws his weight behind Uttar Pradesh and Lucknow Super Giants’ Mohsin Khan, even though he is yet to be capped at international level. Here are his reasons why.
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