KARACHI: Legendary former Pakistan cricketer Zaheer Abbas has been appointed Peshawar Zalmi board president, the team announced on Friday. Abbas, known as the ‘Asian Bradman’, is expected to guide the team on growth strategies for its cricket initiatives and related strategic affairs, according to a Zalmi spokesman. “It is a great privilege and honour for the entire Zalmi family that one of the biggest names of the cricketing world has acquiesced to join us,” Peshawar Zalmi chairman Javed Afridi said. Afridi said that Zalmi’s goals to enter into South Africa’s Global Twenty20 League, and growth of the Global Zalmi fan-based initiative required expert advice and guidance from professionals like Zaheer who had experience working in the highest echelons of cricket administration. “Zaheer will also provide his input on the Zalmi’s foundation plans,” Afridi said. Zaheer appreciated the Zalmi’s dynamism and Afridi’s vision. He expressed his hope that the team would repeat their stellar performance in the upcoming Pakistan Super League and defend the championship title. A stylish batsman of his era, Zaheer has scored 5,062 runs for Pakistan in 78 Test matches and 2,572 runs in 62 One-day Internationals. He is also the only Pakistan batsman to have scored over 100 first-class centuries – 108 to be precise – and a mammoth 34,843 runs in first-class cricket. Published in Daily Times, November 11th 2017.