History
Peshawar Zalmi represents the city of Peshawar in the Pakistan Super League. They are the most consistent team in the competition, having never failed to finish in the top four. Zalmi have made it to the playoffs in all six seasons of the T20 league while emerging champions in the second season in 2017. Four finals and one trophy make the Zalmi the second most successful team in PSL history after Islamabad United. In all, they have won 38 of 70 games.
Peshawar Zalmi: Pakistan Super League Results With Captains
| YEAR | CAPTAIN | RESULT |
| 2015-2016 | Shahid Afridi | Third place |
| 2016-2017 | Darren Sammy | Champions |
| 2017-2018 | Darren Sammy | Runners-up |
| 2018-2019 | Darren Sammy | Runners-up |
| 2019-2020 | Wahab Riaz | Fourth place |
| 2020-2021 | Wahab Riaz | Runners-up |
When the team was formed for the inaugural season of the tournament in 2015 – 2016, Shahid Afridi was made the captain. Under the all-rounder’s captaincy, Peshawar finished third after losing the 3rd Qualifying Final to arch-rivals Islamabad United. As a batsman, Afridi managed just 87 runs this season, and subsequently gave up captaincy.
It was then that Darren Sammy was appointed captain. The West Indian led the team from 2017 until 2020, when he quit playing owing to fitness concerns. The Zalmi then gave a two-year coaching contract to Sammy, a position he still holds. During his captaincy, the Zalmi won their first and only title in PSL 2, followed by two consecutive finals the next two seasons, both of which they lost. Sammy, who is the first captain to win two World Twenty20 titles, is so far the most successful of all three captains the Zalmi have had.
After Sammy’s exit, Wahab Riaz was announced as the new captain for the 2019 – 2020 season and he continues to remain at the team’s helm. Under the pacer bowler’s captaincy thus far, the side finished fourth in 2020 – 2021 and as runners-up last season.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 2022
Batsman: Haider Ali, Hazratullah Zazai, Tom Kohler, Mohammad Haris, Sherfane Rutherford
Wicket-keeper: Kamran Akmal
All-Rounder: Ben Cutting, Hussain Talat, Liam Livingstone, Salman Irshad, Shoaib Malik
Bowler: Arshad Iqbal, Saqib Mahmood, Mohammad Amir Khan, Sameen Gul, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
Peshawar Zalmi have retained Haider Ali, Liam Livingstone, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Sherfane Rutherford, Saqib Mahmood, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore for this season. Among the players they picked in the auctions are Kamran Akmal, Hazratullah Zazai, Arshad Iqbal and Usman Qadir.
Initially, Akmal was unhappy over being picked in the Silver category in the auctions, which is considered to be the lowest category. Subsequently, he withdrew his name from PSL 7. However, the franchise and wicketkeeper have now resolved their dispute, with Akmal agreeing to play in the forthcoming season.
From among the batsman, the onus to score runs will be on the likes of Zazai, Ali, Rutherford, Akmal and Malik. From among the bowlers, Wahab Riaz and Saqib Mahmood will be the ones to watch out for.
| DATE & DAY | FIXTURE | VENUE | TIME (IST) |
| Jan 28, 2022 Friday | Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi | National Stadium, Karachi | 7:30 PM |
| Jan 30, 2022 Sunday | Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United | National Stadium, Karachi | 2:30 PM |
| Feb 2, 2022 Wednesday | Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars | National Stadium, Karachi | 7.30 PM |
| Feb 4, 2022 Friday | Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi | National Stadium, Karachi | 7.30 PM |
| Feb 5, 2022 Saturday | Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans | National Stadium, Karachi | 7.30 PM |
| Feb 10, 2022 Thursday | Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 7.30 PM |
| Feb 13, 2022 Sunday | Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 2.30 PM |
| Feb 15, 2022 Tuesday | Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 7.30 PM |
| Feb 17, 2022 Thursday | Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 7.30 PM |
| Feb 21, 2022 Monday | Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 7.30 PM |
Peshawar Zalmi: Stats
Batting Stats
Kamran Akmal, who has been a part of the franchise since the first edition of the tournament in 2016, is the team’s highest run-scorer with 1820 runs at an average and strike rate of 27.57 and 136.84. He also holds the record for the highest individual score for the Zalmi – 107* off 61 balls against Quetta Gladiators in 2017. In fact, all of the top five highest individual scores for the Zalmi have been scored by Akmal. The best strike rate for the side (237.50) came from Amad Butt who played four matches last season, while the embarrassing record for the most ducks (8) is surprisingly under Akmal’s name.
Bowling Stats
Wahab Riaz, a permanent in the Zalmi team since the inception of the tournament, is their highest wicket-taker. The pace bowler 94 wickets in 67 matches. The record for the best bowling figures in an innings is held by Shahid Afridi (7-5). The best economy rate (4.00) was achieved by Iftikhar Ahmed who played three matches for the side in the 2017 season.
Team Stats
The Peshawar Zalmi emerged winners of the second edition of the PSL, and were the runners-up in 2018, 2019 and 2021. They have never failed to make it to the playoffs in six editions of the tournament. 232-6 in BBL 6 is the highest total posted by the side, while 123 all out is their lowest total, which came in BBL 5. Zalmi’s largest victory (by runs) came in 2019, when they beat Karachi Kings by 61 runs.
Peshawar Zalmi: Rivalries
| Opponent | Match Played | Won | Lost | Win Percentage (%) |
| Islamabad United | 15 | 8 | 7 | 53.33 |
| Karachi Kings | 15 | 5 | 10 | 33.33 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 13 | 9 | 8 | 69.23 |
Islamabad United
Going by the head to head of the Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, it is evident that both teams have been thoroughly competitive against each other all through the six seasons. Interestingly, both the times when Islamabad lost the Eliminator 2 game, Peshawar were the winners. But United took revenge for that by beating the Zalmi in the final of PSL 3. Of the overall 15 matches played between the two sides, Peshawar have won eight and lost seven.
Karachi Kings
The Karachi Kings have been the Zalmi’s greatest enemies, leading them 10-5 in the overall head to head total of 15 games. No other team in the tournament has a better win percentage against Zalmi than the Kings.
Quetta Gladiators
The Zalmi and Gladiators have a competitive head to head total of 9 – 8, and have contested some thrilling games over the years. The Gladiators beat Zalmi in the 2018-19 final, after losing to them in the 2016 – 17 final.
Road Ahead for Peshawar Zalmi
On paper, Peshawar Zalmi are one of the strongest teams in PSL 8. They were the runners-up for the third time last year, after losing the final to Multan Sultan, and will be looking to cross the final hurdle in the upcoming season. The likes of Liam Livingstone, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Sherfane Rutherford and Saqib Mahmood, all of whom are retained from the previous squad, are expected to be the match changers in the upcoming season. Among the new additions to the squad Kamran Akmal and Hazratullah Zazai will be the ones to watch out for.
