Wish to play my last PSL season with Quetta Gladiators: Shahid Afridi

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has expressed his desire to play his “last season” of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with the Quetta Gladiators.

Talking exclusively in DawnNewsTV show ‘Live with Adil Shahzeb’, Afridi said even though he was currently associated with the Multan Sultans, “if the franchise releases me, I will prefer to represent the Quetta Gladiators in my last season.”

The star all-rounder said he was also undergoing trainings to stay fit.

Afridi was ruled out mid-season in the recently-concluded PSL-6, won by Multan Sultans, after suffering a back injury during training.

"I missed not being with the team in the PSL final but I was constantly in touch with Muhammad Rizwan, Sohaib Maqsood and Shan Masood through text messages and I kept guiding them and sharing my experience about the importance of a big match, especially the final," Afridi said.

He also congratulated the Pakistan Cricket Board for arranging the remaining matches of the PSL despite difficulties. However, he added that leagues did not bear the desired fruit unless they were held on home soil.

To a question about prospects of the PSL in comparison to other leagues, he said there was no significant difference between the PSL and the Indian Premier League (IPL), “except that of the amount offered to players”.

He said the core purpose of holding cricket leagues was to bring out new talent and the PSL had produced a number of good players.

Responding to a query about Pakistan’s chances in the upcoming World T20, he said preparations for the T20 World Cup should begin eight to nine months prior to the tournament. He added that too many changes before the event could cause problems in creating successful team combinations.