PSL foreign players who backed out of commitment, not to be made part of next PSL
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LAHORE - Skipper of Quetta Gladiators and Pakistan cricket captain , Sarfraz Ahmad said those foreign players who backed out of their commitment of visiting Pakistan to play the semi finals of the third edition of the Pakistan Super league should not be a part of players draft of the next edition of the mega event.
“It is not fair on part of such foreign players to back out of their commitment at the last minute as they were ready to come to Pakistan”, he told media men at a conference on the eve of the his teams match against Peshawar Zalmi here on Monday evening at Gadafffi stadium. Make shift captain of Peshawar ,Muhammad Hafeez was also present.
Sarfraz said he is saddened as the top most foreign players of his Quetta have opted not to visit Pakistan which is a set back for his team ahead of the crucial tie.
He also urged the franchisers of the teams not to include such players in the respective squads who did not keep their words. “But we cannot force foreign players to visit Pakistan , nor Pakistan cricket Board or the franchisers can do so but it is the moral duty of players to fulfill their commitments and they should give importance to Pakistan and its cricket”, he asserted.
“Without out our key overseas player Jason Roy, Kevin Peterson, Shane Watson and Ben Laughlin we will be not a full strength side, but in the prevailing circumstances we will be re-selecting our squad to exhibit an all round performance to move into the final”, he said.
The termed the plays off against Zalmi a tough and challenging task and said it is hard to fill the void of our foreign players.
“Now all eyes are focused on our young local players whose role will be very important in the match and I am confident that our players will rise to the occasion for a best possible performance”, he said. “Our performance in the last two matches were not good but we will be forgetting all that and also the absence of the foreign players to show a performance which could lead us to the final”, said Sarfraz.
Zalmi make shift captain, Muhammad Hafeez expressed the optimism that his team will demonstrate a higher level of game to brighten its chances for reaching the final.
He said Zalmi and Quetta performed good in the PSL league matches but his team showed excellent performance in the last two matches to create winning streak which is quite vital for lifting his team’s performance.
“We will be playing our play off with momentum and winning streak which have infused confidence in the players and we are ready for a similar performance in tomorrow, Tuesdays match “,he said adding “In my opinion there is no shortcoming in our side and we are not under pressure as we gained confidence by striking victories in our last two matches”.
Hafeez showered praise on veteran batsman, Kamran Akmal and termed his innings in the two matches ‘match winning’.
“He played outstandingly and led the side to victory and we expect consistency from him in our next game”, said the former Pakistan captain. - APP
