Imad wants to qualify for final with win in qualifier

KARACHI: In PSL-3 Karachi Kings lost both the qualifier and the eliminator. Their skipper Imad Wasim does not want that to happen again and is determined to win the qualifier of the PSL-5 against Multan Sultans on Saturday (today) here at the National Stadium to make it to the final, writes Alam Zeb Safi.

“We will try to take it as our first and last game and not to leave it for another game. We played a qualifier a year before and lost both. I could not play due to concussion,” Imad told a virtual news conference here on Friday.

“This time we will try our best to qualify for the final with a win in the first game against Multan Sultans,” said Imad, Pakistan’s solid limited overs cricket all-rounder.

“We have to play good cricket and we should not go with a relaxed attitude,” Imad was quick to add. He was confident that his team would pull off the desired results. “It all depends who plays good cricket on a given day. We all have been playing good cricket and our players have performed. We will give our hundred percent to pull off good results,” Imad said.

“We have come here after playing competitive cricket but it does not guarantee that you will win. Yes, it keeps you in rhythm and it helps you to make your best effort,” the skipper said.

Imad expects something solid from his key experienced bowler Mohammad Amir who has not been able to make a place in Pakistan’s team for New Zealand tour.

“Amir is our match winner. He has performed well for us. He is the only senior bowler in the absence of Chris Jordan and he will definitely make his effort to click in our qualifier against Multan,” Imad said.

He said he knew the the strength of Multan Sultans, especially of their spin department. He said he had full faith in his batting line-up which is strong in the presence of Babar Azam who is in sublime form.

“Multan Sultans are a good side and all their eleven players have been performing. It is not easy to top the group stage in PSL. They have world-class leg-spinners and we have good batsmen. It will be a tight game,” Imad said.

He said he expects a lot from Babar. “I used to say Babar would be the best player in the world, but people would not agree. Now he has proved that he is the best player in the world. People used to say he cannot play shots and now he is showing us that he can hit big shots at will,” Imad said. “I want Babar to finish the game. He knows himself that he needs to finish the game. Obviously that is in his mind. He was doing that against Zimbabwe where he sadly could not finish one T20. He is among the greats of cricket,” Imad said.

Asked whether Mohammad Rizwan or Chadwick Walton would perform wicketkeeping duties, he said: “We will sit and decide about the final combination.”