Quetta Gladiators overseas players willing to play in Pakistan

KARACHI: Unlike the last edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the foreign players of Quetta Gladiators have agreed to play their matches of the PSL-3 in Pakistan.

“With the sole exception of Kevin Pietersen, all the foreign players of our squad have expressed their willingness to play in Pakistan this time round. Even the flamboyant England batsman (Pietersen) may come and play in our cities,” Nadeem Omar, owner of Quetta Gladiators, revealed during a media session here on Thursday.

Besides Pietersen, the foreign players in the Quetta Gladiators squad, being led by Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed, are Shane Watson (Australia), Mahmudullah (Bangladesh), Jason Roy (England), Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).

It may be recalled that Quetta Gladiators were deprived of the services of their prolific overseas players, who opted not to travel to Lahore, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chose to move the PSL-2 final away from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the course of the tournament.

Having finished runners-up in both editions, Quetta Gladiators appear determined to make it third time lucky as the PSL-3 gets under way with the usual fanfare later this month.

“We were considered underdogs on both occasions but we turned it around with passion and team spirit and proved many people wrong by cruising into the final,” Head Coach Moin Khan, himself a former Pakistan captain, remarked.

“Sadly, we couldn’t win the title in the past but I am quite confident that our team will perform better than before and bring the trophy home.“In cricket, you cannot guarantee results but one thing is certain that we are going to fight till the very end,” he added.

Moin said that the PCB should appoint Sarfraz Ahmed as the captain of the national team till the 2019 World Cup which will be helpful in bringing to an end speculations.“Just as Quetta Gladiators have announced that Sarfraz Ahmed will continue leading our team as long as he’s fit, the PCB would be advised to go for a long-term appointment in the larger national interest,” the former Pakistan captain opined.