Moin laments players’ lack of game awareness

KARACHI: The ongoing HBL PSL-6 has been disastrous for the 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators. Sarfraz Ahmed-led side is already out of the race for playoffs, having won only two of their nine matches.

On Wednesday, they were mauled by Multan Sultans by a huge margin of 110 runs, a PSL record.

Quetta Gladiators’ head coach Moin Khan lamented his team’s poor display in the entire event, saying his brigade lacked game awareness. “I saw a lack of game awareness in the team. There are some youngsters who . . . are making mistakes and are repeating them . . . in bowling or in batting. They need to play according to the situation and according to the requirements of the game,” Moin said after Quetta lost to Multan at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

“What is your team’s requirement? They must know this. The more quickly they know the better for the team,” Moin said. “Obviously if they are to play for Pakistan, they need to work extremely hard. And this thing we lacked as we never saw game awareness at any stage in our team. Where they needed to stay at the wicket they did not do that and where bowlers needed to take wickets they bowled such deliveries which brought our own team under pressure,” said Moin, a former Pakistan captain.

“Every season is a new season and every match is a new match. The team should realise this and it is the duty of every individual as all are professionals. There are no excuses. We played very badly; secondly our combination could not be formed in any match,” he said. “In every match a player remained out of the team. Chris Gayle came and he was playing well; Qais Ahmed came and he won a match for us, then the league stopped and the team changed,” Moin explained.

“In the Karachi leg we had got momentum, but the league was stopped,” he said. “Here in Abu Dhabi in the first two matches our two top players Russel and Faf du Plessis had to stay out. Naturally there was responsibility on our local boys, but they were not in form. Jake Weatherald performed well and he impressed me a lot, but obviously as a team we could not perform,” Moin said.

Russel got injured and Faf missed the last couple of matches due to a concussion and he has now flown back home.

“If in any team even one or two boys cannot perform consistently it becomes very difficult for that team to win. I also saw lack of confidence in the players individually,” Moin said.

“As a coach I always try to teach game awareness to the players. It’s top-level cricket they are playing. They have to perform really well and there is and there should be no excuses,” he said.

Moin said in the last game effort would be made to utilise the bench strength. “We will try the bench and give chances to those who have not yet played,” he said. “Now there is nothing left for us in the tournament and I hope the youngsters will benefit from the opportunity,” he said.

“We will try our best in the last match. In every match we were going for win but unfortunately our combination didn’t click,” Moin said.