SIALKOT: Sialkot Stallions, a newly introduced team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has appointed former Australian cricket team captain Tim Paine as the head coach of the team. The news was shared by the team management on social media.
The Stallions aren’t the only newcomers this season. Hyderabad also joined the PSL and picked another Aussie, fast bowler Jason Gillespie, to lead their coaching staff.
OZ Group bought the Sialkot team for Rs185 crore, locking it in for ten years. That’s actually the highest price anyone’s ever paid for a PSL team.
Hamza Majid Chaudhry, the man behind OZ Group, has a pretty interesting story himself. He’s originally from The life story of Hamza Majid Chaudhry, who leads OZ Group demonstrates an intriguing path that he follows. His life started in Faisalabad but he spent several years in Australia before returning to Pakistan two years ago. Chaudhry told a local TV channel that his true emotional connection with Pakistan remained intact during his time abroad. Cricket serves as his national passion because it unites the entire country.
He revealed that the group had been pursuing a PSL team acquisition for the past eighteen months. He chose to return to Pakistan because he wanted to create beneficial changes for his homeland at a time when many people planned to exit the country.
Chaudhry now views the PSL as something more than a cricket league which he previously regarded as his only business operation. He described it as Pakistan’s international emblem because it stands as the world’s second-largest cricket league. He’s convinced it can top the charts if it keeps up the quality.
Looking ahead, Chaudhry said their focus will be on Pakistani cricket legends, not foreign coaches. He’s got close ties to big names like Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi, calling them “elder brothers.” In his view, Pakistan has no shortage of iconic cricket personalities to build a strong team around.
