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Tuesday March 19, 2024

PSL 2021: Samit Patel eyes win for Lahore Qalandars, says team 'very confident'

“We just want to play good cricket — a good brand of cricket and exciting cricket," he says

By Faizan Lakhani
February 26, 2021
Lahore Qalandars' all-rounder Samit Patel. — PSL/File

Lahore Qalandars' all-rounder Samit Patel said Thursday his team are "very confident" to perform well in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.

Patel, speaking to Geo.tv, said that he was impressed to see the way Fakhar Zaman showed responsibility and stayed on the ground till the end of the game against Quetta Gladiators.

“We just want to play good cricket — a good brand of cricket and exciting cricket. I think that we have a mixture of youth and experienced players in our squad,” he said.

The all-rounder said that he is happy that his team started well, adding that he hopes the team will keep the momentum going.

"The form of the local guys has also been really impressive,” he said while mentioning performances of Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf.

He also praised Fakhar Zaman for his batting against Quetta Gladiators in Qalandar’s 2nd game in Pakistan Super League and said that he was excited to see Fakhar returning not-out and finishing the game.

“I see myself performing the finishing role with David Wiese. Having experience helps me get through different situations during the game. The goals are to win, go on and play really good cricket, and try and lift the trophy with the Lahore Qalandars,” he aimed.

Patel, who has previously represented Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United in the PSL, said that Lahore was always a good team and had star names in the roster but they were unlucky as they could not make headway in the tournament.

“But I think the way we're jelling now is as Qalandars is exciting for us and the whole of the PSL league,” he said.

Replying to a question, Patel praised the security arrangements made for the tournament made by the government — ensuring the players' safety.

Recalling his past experiences in PSL, he said that the crowd was "loud" when he represented Islamabad — and it's always a great reception to be playing in Pakistan.

Patel hoped for some support to spinners in PSL matches despite Karachi’s wicket showing tilt towards batsmen.

The England all-rounder disagreed with his South African teammate when asked if practising Golf swing can help batsmen improve power hitting.

“I think the gym will help more than playing golf. I mean, it's more of a mindset of relaxing and the swing of the golf swing. But yeah, each to their own I don't think necessarily golf will improve your scores. I think the stronger you are, you're probably going to hit it as further,” he concluded.