Gladiators foreign cricketers withdraw from PSL final in Lahore

SHARJAH: Four foreign players associated with Quetta Gladiators have refused to play the final of the Pakistan Super League in Lahore.

In tweets after the Gladiators' win against Zalmi in Sharjah, star batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Rilee Rossouw, all-rounder Luke Wright and fast bowler Tymal Mills confirmed their unavailability for PSL final in Lahore. 

KP bid goodbye to Dubai after the last-ball thriller, saying it was "family time" for him now.

Gladiators opener Luke Wright stated in a tweet that he would not participate in the PSL final due to security concerns. He also apologised to his fans for the decision.

It's with a heavy heart I will not be coming to Lahore. I have a young family and for me a game of cricket is just not worth the risk 1/3

— Luke Wright (@lukewright204) February 28, 2017

I'm sorry as I know how much it means to you all and hopefully in the future the safety will not be in doubt to come play there. 2/3

— Luke Wright (@lukewright204) February 28, 2017

In a late-night message, Tymal Mills also announced his omission from the PSL final.

@TeamQuetta @thePSLt20 . pic.twitter.com/4aT80px8zj

— Tymal Mills (@tmills15) February 28, 2017

On Wednesday afternoon, South African batsman Rilee Rossouw also took to Twitter to announce his withdrawal from the Lahore final.

For those still unsure its with a sad heart that I must announce that i will not be taking part in the final.

— Rilee Rossouw (@Rileerr) March 1, 2017

The batsman thanked his fans for all the support in the past few weeks.

The people and fans of @TeamQuetta are the most passionate and humble ive ever met. Thank you for my time here and all the support!!!

— Rilee Rossouw (@Rileerr) March 1, 2017

Other foreign players in Quetta Gladiators include Nathan McCullum, Mahmudullah and Thesara Perrera. Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah has already left the Gladiators camp to join national duty.

Quetta Gladiators qualified to play the PSL final in Lahore after defeating Peshawar Zalmi by one run in a nail-biting finish on Tuesday.

With Zalmi chasing 201, the team looked certain to win the first playoff, but they just couldn’t keep their nerves in control off last over and failed to score required 7 runs.

Captain Darren Sammy scored 5 off first three deliveries, but the next three deliveries had something else in the bag. Chris Jordan was caught behind on 4th, while Wahab Riaz and Hassan Ali were run out on 5th and 6th delivery of the over as Gladiators won the game by one run.

Before the breathtaking final over, tremendous batting display by Muhammad Hafeez and Dawid Malan, and entertaining batting by Shahid Afridi had brought Zalmi near to victory.