Darren Sammy to continue as Peshawar Zalmi skipper for PSL 3

Charismatic West Indies all-rounder and former skipper Darren Sammy is set to continue his role as the captain of the Peshawar Zalmi franchise in the upcoming season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2018. The 33-year-old right-hander earlier led the Peshawar outfit to triumph in the previous season and will be aiming to do an encore under his regained leadership. The franchise confirmed the news via a press release.

The dynamic all-rounder is the only captain to have won the coveted World T20 championship twice. He led West Indies to the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 victory against Sri Lanka, which was the first major trophy for the team in 8 years. He again held the reigns and guided West Indies to victory in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 which was played in India against England.

Javed Afridi, the owner of the team heaped praises on Sammy for playing an integral role in reviving international cricket in Pakistan. The former West Indian player has been clinical in convincing other players to agree to tour Pakistan for PSL and the recently-concluded World XI series.

Lauding the all-rounder Afridi said, “Sammy not only led the side well on (the) ground but also off the field too and that bonding between players and captain led the team to PSL title.”

Shahid Afridi replaced by Zaheer Abbas

Darren Sammy took over captaincy reigns from Shahid Afridi before the second edition of PSL and led the team to the PSL title in front of a jam-packed Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Meanwhile, Afridi, who has joined Karachi Kings, has been replaced by former batsman Zaheer Abbas as Peshawar Zalmi’s president. Abbas, along with team mentor Younis Khan and head coach Mohammad Akram met Javed to discuss the strategy for the upcoming players’ draft scheduled on Sunday.