Sikandar Raza reveals Shaheen Afridi's unique quality as captain

Sikandar Raza is delighted with what the Lahore Qalandars’ squad has accomplished in the eighth season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) so far.

Qalandars successfully chased a target for the first time in this edition, thanks to Mirza Tahir Baig’s 42-ball in 54 and useful middle-order contributions from Sam Billings (28 off 21) and Sikandar Raza (23 off 14), to book a spot in the final. The defending champions overhauled the target of 172 with four wickets and seven balls spare against Peshawar Zalmi in Eliminator 2 at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday night and will play Multan Sultans in the final of the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 on Saturday.

Raza stated that the goal of the team was to advance to the final and that they wanted a strong start so that even if they weren't able to perform as well in the middle part of the innings, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the outcome.

"This is my first PSL, and it is a massive achievement. We are the defending champions, and it gives us a chance to win it again. The message from the start was to reach the final. Our focus was on the start, and if we get that, then the middle overs will take care of itself. Billings and Tahir had a good partnership and set up the platform for the chase," said Raza in the post-match chat.

He further added that Shaheen encourages everyone to contribute, and they showed no signs of panic even when Zalmi scored 100 runs in just 11 overs.

"We all looked after ourselves after the Qualifier, and everybody was fit. Shaheen allows us to speak, and he tells the senior guys like myself, Billings and Wiese to speak; even when the opposition was 100 in 11 overs, we were not worried," he added.