Narine, Akmal join Quetta Gladiators for PSL 4
Quetta Gladiators will have T20 specialist all-rounder Sunil Narine and Umar Akmal in their ranks for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as they traded the duo with Lahore Qalandars for medium-fast Rahat Ali and young left-arm orthodox Hassan Khan, it was confirmed on Saturday (November 3). Narine joined Qalandars in the second PSL edition and over the course of his stay picked up 20 wickets at an average of 20.65. He famously secured Qalandars a super-over win over arch-rivals Karachi Kings as his right-arm off breaks allowed Kings' batsmen only eight runs in their pursuit of 12.
Since his phenomenal run in the first edition that saw him score 335 runs, the highest in the season, at an average of 83.75, Akmal's form went downhill. He managed only 164 runs at 20.50 in the next edition and in the previous edition he was given only five matches in which he scored 57 runs as his attitude issues were the talk of the town. After being axed from the playing XI, Akmal did not travel with the team to matches and did not attend training sessions. He also sent messages to the team owners questioning Brendon McCullum's captaincy methods. In an interview during the 2018 edition, McCullum termed Akmal to be a "complicated guy".
"Umar is a complicated guy and we all know he has well-documented troubles throughout his career," McCullum said. "But he is incredibly talented and he has done special things in his career and if his career has to finish now, I think it's fair to say that he has underachieved. I think it's a hard message and sometimes you need that, because as a cricketer you need to be honest with yourself and you need those who are prepared to be honest with you."
In a statement upon the inclusion of the two in his team, Quetta Gladiators owner Nadeem Omar said: "Sunil Narine and Umar Akmal are world-class additions to the Gladiators squad ahead of PSL season 4. Sunil Narine is a magician with the ball and one of the best match winners when in T20 cricket. Umar Akmal, too, remains one of the most destructive batsmen in Pakistan and he will add much-needed firepower in our batting."
Making his PSL debut in the 2018 edition, Rahat Ali finished the season with 15 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 21.46. He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the season. Twenty-year-old Hassan Khan took six wickets in 11 matches. But it was his economy of 6.67 that made him a regular feature in the Sarfraz Ahmed-led playing XI.
The deal also sees Qalandars switch their second round first Diamond pick with Gladiators first round Platinum pick. What makes this switch interesting is the inclusion of AB de Villiers and Steve Smith in the Platinum category for this players' draft. With big-hitting Chris Lynn already in their squad, the inclusion of either of the two will add great T20 batting strength in the Qalandars' lineup.
McCullum parts ways with Qalandars
McCullum took to Twitter to announce that he has parted ways with Qalandars, where he spent two years. "A big thank you to @lahoreqalandars for the past 2 seasons. Today we have parted ways but I leave with fond memories and friendships. I wish you all the best in the future. To the Rana family, a special thank you. Our friendship will always remain. @thePSLt20," he tweeted.
McCullum had floated the idea of giving up captaincy during the previous edition as Qalandars lost six straight matches and picked up their third consecutive bottom finish. The explosive top-order batsman had had poor start to his PSL career as he managed only 93 runs in eight matches in his first edition and followed that run up with 218 runs in 10 matches in PSL 2018.
Previous Developments:
- In the first major trade of the season, Quetta Gladiators picked up specialist all-rounder Sohail Tanvir from Multan Sultans for a Diamond round pick.
- Former Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq will not be a part of Islamabad United as a player in the fourth PSL edition. "Islamabad United has always greatly valued Misbah as a player, leader and a superb team player," Hasan Cheema, Islamabad United manager said in a statement this week. "As he transitions into his non-playing phase, we believe he can add a lot of value to ISLU as well as to Pakistan. The franchise continues to discuss with him avenues which could provide him a platform to pursue his next phase. These discussions continue and deserve the confidentiality which a senior player like him deserves."
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