Gladiators provide Shehzad, Akmal 'opportunity to prove themselves' in PSL4

KARACHI: Nadeem Omar, the owner of PSL team Quetta Gladiators, has said that he wanted to give Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal an opportunity to prove themselves and that’s why he picked the under-criticism duo in his team for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) fourth edition.

Gladiators, after initially getting Akmal from Lahore Qalandars following a trade, picked Shehzad today in supplementary category after no other team expressed interest in picking him.

“This is a chance for Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad to prove themselves, and probably a last chance,” Omar told Geo.tv

“I have always believed that a person should be given a chance to prove himself a better one. I also gave chance to Mohammad Aamir when he returned to competitive cricket. When no one picked Ahmed Shehzad today I thought that it would be unjust with a good player as him and picked him.”

Nadeem Omar hoped that both Akmal and Shehzad will prove themselves as exemplary cricketers with their behaviour.

Another reason, according to Nadeem Omar, to pick Shehzad and Akmal was to ensure that in any unfortunate scenario of foreigners avoiding to visit Pakistan, the Quetta’s local strength is strong enough.

Although, he was hopeful after a majority of Gladiators foreign players agreed to tour Pakistan.

“Previously, our progress was halted because our foreign signings didn’t come to Pakistan but this time I am very much confident about them. Rilee Rossouw, Sunil Narine and Bravo are coming and I will try my best to convince Shane Watson to visit Pakistan this year as well,” he aimed.

Talking about the team combination, the Karachi-based businessman said that this is the best T20 team.

“There can’t be any better team than this,” he said.

“We have batting till tail, we have best spinners, good fast bowlers and decent all-rounders. We have all the essence of a good T20 team,” Omar said, hoping that his team will lift the trophy this season.

He also said that this time two players from Balochistan, Jalat Khan and Mohammad Asghar, are added in the squad which will allow him to support the much-neglected cricket fraternity of the province.

“We are trying to streamline cricket in Balochistan, being with PSL squad will surely help Balochistan players learn and improve their skills and this will eventually help Balochistan cricket,” he noted.

Expressing his delight over PSL’s success, the owner of Quetta Gladiators said the PSL has become the biggest brand of Pakistan and with more games in the country, and the value of the brand is also increasing.

“This time brand value has risen to three times, imagine if the entire league is held in Pakistan then the value would get a hike of thirty times,” he said.