Both the owner and captain of Quetta Gladiators are unhappy with the unavailability of overseas players for the Pakistan leg of PSL 2018 despite assurances made ahead of the departure.
Talking to a media outlet, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise owner Nadeem Omer expressed his resentment over the lack of foreign players. “It happens every time, we cannot convince foreign players to travel to Pakistan,” he complained.
He asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management to resolve the issue, reasoning that the franchise owners would lose the charm if the PCB failed to resolve the concerns.
Omer argued that the recent Raiwind blast, which targeted the police at Tableeghi Jamaat ijtema (congregation) site and martyred 11, was a major setback for the foreign players. He stated, “They got worried after it.”
Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfraz Ahmed too showed signs of worry. He admitted that there was certainly a fear of no foreign players in the squad willing to go to Lahore. “It’s certainly a concern for us,” he frowned.
With Shane Watson and Rilee Rossouw undecided, Kevin Pietersen and Jason Roy have ruled out the possibility of travelling to Pakistan for the first PSL eliminator against Peshawar Zalmi in Lahore on March 20.
On the other hand, all foreign players of Peshawar Zalmi – Darren Sammy, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan and Tamim Iqbal – are ready to come to Pakistan.