Pick only those who will come to Pakistan: Moin

From our correspondent

LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain and coach of Quetta Gladiators Moin Khan has asked the organisers of the Pakistan Super League not to consider foreign players who refuse to visit Pakistan.

Talking to media after the first PSL eliminator here at the Gaddafi Stadium, Moin said that the reason for his team’s defeat was the refusal of the foreign players to play in Pakistan. “We should only pick players who are willing to visit Pakistan,” Moin said.

“We do not need to push for individual star power anymore as our league has now become a big brand and we now need to think about the teams. So in the future, we don’t need to get players who don’t want to come to Pakistan. This is hurting Pakistan as it sends a negative signal and affects our country’s image as well,” he added.

The World Cup winner saw his side lose Shane Watson and Kevin Pietersen, both of whom were instrumental in Quetta’s run to the playoffs.“Their refusal to visit Pakistan sends a false impression that we are an unsafe country, but I am pretty sure we are a safe country,” he said.

“I personally feel we eventually shouldn’t be dependent on these players. If somebody respects Pakistan and the image of the country, he should come here and play this league.”Peshawar Zalmi’s entire team had travelled to Lahore for the match and included Tamim Iqbal, Liam Dawson and skipper Darren Sammy.

Quetta had to sign Thisara Perera from Multan Sultans and rely on their local players. “[I am] feeling hurt as a head coach,” Moin said after the match. “It was a good match in terms of entertainment but we made mistakes and played a few unnecessary shots. But overall our batting combination was broken. Watson didn’t come despite committing but with KP we always knew he wouldn’t be coming,” he added.

Perera and Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah joined the side at the last moment and Moin believes that too affected the side. “Perera joined us as we were making our way to the ground and he landed in Lahore after three connections from Colombo to Dubai to Karachi to Lahore,” he said.

“Tom [Kohler-Cadmore] and Mahmudullah landed earlier in the morning. It doesn’t matter how big a player you are, your body needs rest. We had discussed in our team meeting that we don’t need to depend on our overseas players. Winning and losing are part of the game but I am happy that we managed to stretch the game to the end,” said the former wicketkeeper batsman.