Defending champions of Lahore Qalandars have unveiled their kit and anthem for the upcoming eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday.

The Qalandars unveiled their anthem and their kit during the ‘Qalandars Night’ at the Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore.

The riveting anthem is titled ‘Qalandar Hum’ and is sung by J Ali, who also composed the song. Meanwhile, the rousing lyrics of the song were penned by Zeeshan Hussain and the song was directed by Sameen Rana, the COO of the Lahore Qalandars franchise.

The song embodies the theme “from hope to reality”, and played along with its engrossing shots of Lahore, cricket and the liveliness of the city known as the heart of the country, it is sure to leave fans hyped up. Moreover, the Qalandars have also revealed their kit for the exciting and much-hyped edition of the tournament.

As in previous editions, the Qalandars will don the green colour for home-matches and red for away-matches. Much like the anthem, the kit too pays tribute to Lahore, with a map of the city printed on the front.

Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Management Committee, Najam Sethi, was among those who attended the event.

The Qalandars will kick off their PSL title defence against Multan Sultans in a rematch of the grand final of the seventh edition of the event.

The two sides will take on each other at the Multan Cricket Stadium after an opening ceremony on February 13.

Qalandars will attempt to become the first side to win back-to-back titles; meanwhile Islamabad United will aim to become the most successful side by lifting the trophy thrice.

Lahore Qalandars squad

Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Abdullah Shafique, Shane Dadswell, Kamran Ghulam, Zaman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, Liam Dawson, Dilbar Hussain, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ahmed Danlyal, Shawaiz Irfan, Jordan Cox, Jalat Khan, Ahsan Bhatti, Sam Billings (partial replacement for Rashid Khan) and Kusal Mendis (partial replacement for Jordan Cox)