Dubai: Preparations to win the second edition of the Pakistan Super League are in full swing. All the five participating teams are busy playing practice matches and training hard here.
When Gulf News asked Misbah-ul-Haq, the captain of Islamabad United, about his team’s chances of defending the trophy, he said: “We have the same team that won the trophy last year. Every player knows his role. Already we have a good combination and that will help us get to a good start.”
Brendon McCullum, captain of the Lahore Qalandars, is also confident of a good show from his team. “We have a good group of players and also good people working with us. We will be playing entertaining cricket and hence will put up a good show,” McCullum said.
Sarfraz Ahmad, who wants to wipe away the sadness of losing the final of the first edition of the PSL with Quetta Gladiators, said: “Our players are young. They are all determined and hence we will go for a victory this time.”
Kumar Sangakkara, who is a veteran of many battles and captain of the Karachi Kings, wants to also play exciting cricket and win. “We have a good combination of local and international players. We also have a good mix of young and old players. We want to play exciting cricket and win.”
Darren Sammy, captain of Peshawar Zalmi, knows how to get the best out of his players.
“We want to try and take off on a good note. Our players gel very well and we are confident as a team,” he insisted.
To a query from Gulf News to Misbah on how advantageous it will be for the Pakistan players that are playing in the IPL — as most of them consider Dubai and Sharjah as their home grounds — Misbah replied: “Pakistan players know the conditions here very well and surely Pakistan players in all the teams will have an edge over foreign players. Most of the top players play regularly on Dubai and Sharjah wickets. The Dubai and Sharjah wickets are flat and not much different from those in Pakistan. This does not mean foreign players will not be at ease on these wickets because players like Brendon McCullum and Kumar Sangakkara have played a lot on these wickets and performed well too.”
Among the star players, Shoaib Malek, the former captain, who unveiled the man-of-the-match trophy, said: “I am very excited. The tournament did very well last year. There are a lot of big names in the different teams. I am looking forward to the event and also want do well again.”
