Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has called upon his teammates to play for the team, which he said is like a family. The Lahore Qalandars, one of the six franchises of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), are the defending champions. The PSL is all set to kick off its eighth edition on February 13 with the final to take place on March 19 in Lahore. Qalandars lifted the PSL trophy last season when they thrashed Multan Sultans by 42 runs in the final. No one should think that he can secure a place in the next match by playing for himself, Afridi told the players in a video before a practice match on Monday.

“He who gets even a single run with courage will play all the matches. No one will blame others as all the players are good. They are part of the squad,” said the skipper. Afridi asked his fellow players to consider the franchise their family and to take care of each other like brothers. The Qalandars skipper encouraged teammates to think about winning together and moving forward “together”. “We have to be strong enough to beat any team,” he said. Afridi also stressed the importance of respecting each other, saying, “Respect each other. There is no senior or junior. All of you are the same. Shaheen is Zaman and Zaman is Shaheen.” Matches for PSL 8 will be played in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi from February 13 till March 19. The largest number of matches in this edition are scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi, where 11 matches will be held. Karachi and Lahore will stage nine matches each, while Multan will host five matches.