After the announcement of superstar Fawad Khan as their team ambassador, the Islamabad United (ISLU) team have scored another sixer. They have now announced PSL’s ambassador, Ali Zafar in the ISLU team.
If having the multitalented Fawad as ambassador was not enough of a feat, the team have managed to bag another achievement. Now by partnering with Ali Zafar too, ISLU becomes the only participating team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the biggest cricketing event in the recent history of the country, to have clinched two of the most popular and most successful names in entertainment industry of the country. Cherry on the cake is the fact that Ali is also the face PSL.
There could not have been better choices than Ali and Fawad, the two most recognizable faces in the country, representing the team. Both stars have managed to make a huge impact as outstanding singers as well as versatile actors, at home and abroad.
About being in the ISLU team now Ali said: “It’s really surreal, interesting and strange how things come together. As a child, I inspired to be a cricketer, a passion which was later replaced by wanting to become a singer. But for some reason the spirit of a cricketer always remained deep inside. I do like to wear different hats, but more than everything I like to be a dreamer. When I used to watch Indian Premiere League matches I used to think and dream that someday Pakistan will have its own super league and that day I will have a team of my own. So for me more than a partnership, it’s the manifestation of a dream. Given the opportunity to compose, write and sing its anthem and open the season with a performance on such a big scale is a big honour in itself. And now with Islamabad United things are going to get even more exciting. We have the man himself Misbah as our captain, the legendary Wasim Akram as mentor and Fawad Khan as our brand ambassador. I think we are packed to display a killer performance. Let’s play and have some fun! Watch out for the song.”
Before announcing both Ali and Fawad as the star package, the social media pages of ISLU decided to create some hype and evoke interest of fans and followers by posting pictures of the backside of a man and letting fans guess who were they going to be. This invoked a lot of interest among sports aficionados who kept guessing till the faces were revealed.
ISLU is the only PSL participant team to have got their hands on some of the biggest names in both sports and entertainment in different roles. One of the best cricketers in Pakistan Misbahul Haq is the captain of ISLU, the biggest Australian player Shane Watson is part of the team and legendary all-rounder Wasim Akram is the team director.
The vision of the team, according to the owners is to provide a truly global experience on sports entertainment; a fan base which is loyal, aware and supportive of the sport and the franchise; an aspirational beacon for up and coming players to strive for excellence in cricket for Pakistan in particular and for the world at large; an eco-system for the promotion of cricket in particular, and sports in general, in Pakistan through close partnership with PCB; a truly professionally run organisation with exceptional standards of corporate governance and international best practices; promotion of Pakistan through sports and involvement of internationally known figures into Pakistan; and a responsible member on CSR.
The ISLU franchise comprises national as well as international names such as Shane Watson (AUS), Andre Russell (WI), Misbahul Haq, Samuel Badree (WI), Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin (AUS), Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Imran Khalid, Kamran Ghulam, Umar Amin, Sam Billings (ENG), Rumman Raees, Amad Butt, and Ashar Zaidi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Siddiq as supplementary.
