DUBAI: While Lahore Qalandars suffered a beating at the hands of debutants Multan Sultans, with the latter bagging a victory by 43 runs, Sohail Akhtar does not seem too bothered.
Speaking to Geo.tv on Friday at the Dubai International Stadium after the third match of the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) third season concluded, Akhtar said he was "very satisfied".
"I could see in my mind that things were going well, but, unluckily, I was unable to finish," he explained.
"That, however, made me upset."
Nevertheless, the right-hand batsman did not feel let down. There are more games coming up soon, he went on to say, adding that this was only the first match.
"What I failed to achieve today, Inshallah (God be willing) I'll try to do the next time."
In light of his shining streak, rising from the talent hunt right up to the PSL, Akhtar noted that he was grateful to the Qalandars' top brass for their support, commitment, and confidence-boosting methods.
"100 percent credit goes to Sameen bhai, Aqib bhai, and Atif bhai," he said, referring to Qalandars COO and team manager Sameen Rana, head coach Aqib Javed, and CEO Atif Rana.
"Prior to joining, I was very sure that they would not include me in the team," said the new recruit, citing his position and the fact that he had not played for a while just before the selection.
When he finally ended up being added to the team, nonetheless, Akhtar recalled that the top Qalandars officials made him realise he could do the job because he had the required talent.
"Day in, day out, we used to have sessions in the academy… All of them, especially Aqib Javed, got very involved in my progress and training."
"So, I hope to achieve the target very soon."
We then asked the cricketer how he vanished from the scene for some time before making a comeback this year, to which he responded by citing theAbbottabad Region's relegation.
"I used to play withAbbottabad Region, but, unluckily, the team got relegated, which sort of put an end to our cricket [at that time]."
"I did, however, play in the clubs, but 'club cricket' was not very popular in our area due to lack of proper venues."
"Slowly, I continued on my way [in the cricket career], eventually reaching Aqib bhaiand, once again, started cricket from the scratch."
Now that he is playing on a much bigger level than just regional cricket, and considering the fact that he has a lot of responsibility, Akhtar said he understood the drive for triumph.
"Inshallah (God be willing), I shall effectively make use of my position now.
"Every other person is saying that I need to do more, I need to achieve success. And I will … very soon."