LAHORE: Pacer Haris Rauf is confident that Lahore Qalandars can win the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the third time in a row.
Qalandars are the defending champions, having won the title in 2022 and 2023. While talking to the media in Lahore, Rauf stressed that they will push hard to win again for the fans.
"Fans would want us to win again and we will try to execute good performance again," Haris said.
"There is no such pressure of being defending champions. We will look to entertain the fans by playing exciting cricket," he added.
Meanwhile, Haris shed light on the captaincy of Shaheen Afridi, who is Qalandars and well as skipper of the national T20I team.
"I have been playing with Shaheen for a long time, he fights for his team. Be it PSL or national team, Shaheen tries to keep his team relaxed and backs his teammates," he maintained.
Haris is confident of rectifying his mistakes in the practice session ahead of the PSL 9.
"There is no pressure on me. I will try to improve my performance and secure a place in the team," he added.
Remember, PSL 9 will be held in four cities — Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi — with the final of the event taking place at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on March 18.
Like the previous edition, the PSL 9 will take place in two legs with Multan Cricket Stadium and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium hosting 14 matches between them from February 17 to 27. The action then moves to Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium and Karachi’s National Bank Stadium, where 16 matches will be held from February 28 to March 12. The event will then move to Karachi in its entirety for the playoffs.
Lahore Qalandars' PSL 9 squad
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Platinum), Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), David Wiese (both Diamond), Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan (all Gold), Mirza Baig, Rashid Khan (both Silver, injured), Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Bhatti, Dan Lawrence (partially unavailable), Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Rassie van der Dussen, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.