Multan Sultans’ skipper happy with players’ form

KARACHI: Table toppers Multan Sultans skipper Shan Masood on Friday said that his charges are in perfect shape and would deliver in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) qualifier against Karachi Kings here at the National Stadium on Saturday (today).

“The players are in great shape. We have seen their fitness level and skills during the practice games. We have been playing intensive cricket coming from England into the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Some of our players have played IPL and CPL, so we have no issue,” Shan Masood told a virtual news conference.

Shan said if the players were able to execute their plans solidly then it would yield results. “Karachi Kings are strong. In my opinion Kings have the best batsman in the world. They have Imad Wasim as a good leader and one of the best bowlers in this format. Their foreign players and local bowling, which also includes Amir, I think they have a strong line-up. We will try to execute our plans and InshaAllah will produce a good result,” Shan said.

Shan said he was happy with his team’s performances in practice games. “The first thing is that no one has any disadvantage in this as all teams are playing after a break. The good thing is that we got a couple of practice sessions and then two practice games and good performances were seen,” said Shan, Pakistan’s left-handed Test opener.

“Our local players have been playing domestic cricket,” Shan said.

He said that they would go with their well-balanced bowling attack against Multan. “We will see the wicket. We always have tried to pick a well-balanced bowling department which could cover all aspects. In T20 match situation changes quickly and so you must have different options in bowling and we will try our best to go with a well-balanced bowling attack,” Shan said.

Multan Sultans lost their two overseas players a few days ago when England’s James Vince and Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah returned positive Covid-19 tests. But Shan is happy that they got good enough replacements in England’s Joe Denly and Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor.

“Definitely we will miss James Vince as he has been our main batsman. We were also happy for Mahmudullah who had to come as Moeen Ali’s replacement. Obviously we faced little bit problems when we were seeking for replacements,” Shan said.

“Taylor was in Pakistan and played a full series and he performed well. Denly has been part of England’s white ball cricket for the last two years. He had shown his quality in PSL-3 when he played for Karachi Kings. He was with Multan in PSL-4 but due to national duty could not join. We are very happy with our replacements,” he said. “We have also roped in Adam Lyth, left-handed opening batsman of Yorkshire. Our squad is well composed,” Shan said.

“PSL is very competitive. It’s not easy to separate four teams,” he said.

“I don’t think I have to motivate my boys. They know the PSL trophy is at stake. We never qualified for the playoffs before, so the motivation is always there,” he said.

“As far as my performances are concerned so I had a decent group stage. I was fortunate enough to play National T20 as well. When you have played 12 games it allows you to get used to the format. As a unit we have a couple of other players who played the domestic T20 tournament and they bring some decent forms to carry into the playoffs,” Shan said.

“We have played enough cricket in Karachi and we know the conditions. In PSL group stages we played matches in the day and we are very happy with our preparations. Yesterday Usman Qadir and Rohail Nazir finished the practice game which is an encouraging sign and it shows that your entire squad is ready,” Shan said.