Rawalpindi cricket ground will host its first match of HBL PSL 8 on Wednesday, between rivals Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings. Both teams are currently placed at the bottom of the points table.
Babar Azam, top run scorer for Zalmi and the captain of the team, was previously a core member of Karachi Kings and leading the team in the last season. But the team did not perform well under his captaincy and lost all the important matches of PSL 7.
Mohammad Amir, Karachi Kings’ frontline pace bowler, has been overtly critical of Babar Azam in several live televsion shows and on micro-blogging site Twitter. Even Imad Wasim, skipper of Karachi Kings, took a dig at Azam’s batting and leadership skills without being too vocal.
The verbal gymnastics before the start of this PSL season renders the match between KAR and PES all the more interesting.
It is too early to gauge their current position in the table. Ideally, both teams would want to earn two crucial points to stabilise their standing. Historically, when it comes to their head-to-head in the last five meetings, Zalmi have enjoyed an upper hand while winning all five encounters between the two.
The Imad Wasim-led Karachi Kings will aim to overcome their failures and try to obtain a result in their favour in the much-awaited clash.
Experts says that Peshawar Zalmi will be the favourite of today’s match but Imad led Kings will also fight for crucial points to strengthen their place.
Playing XI for Peshawar Zalmi
Mohammad Haris (wk), Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Rovman Powell, James Neesham, Dasun Shanaka, Wahab Riaz, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Qadir, Arshad Iqbal
Playing XI Karachi Kings
P Matthew Wade (wk), James Vince, Tayyab Tahir, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim (c), Ben Cutting, Irfan Khan, Aamer Yamin, Muhammad Musa, Tabraiz Shamsi, Akif Javedlaying XI for Karachi Kings
