The Southern Punjab team is suffering from interference of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans during the ongoing National T20 Cup.

According to sources, the Shan Masood-led unit, which currently sits at the bottom of the table after losing their first four games, is not being managed properly which is partly due to one of the officials of the Sultans franchise meddling in their affairs.    

The growing influence of the aforementioned official, mainly through WhatsApp, has negatively impacted the side while also, more or less, turning them into Sultans’ B-team.

It must be noted that Masood also leads the Sultans in PSL, while Southern Punjab’s head coach, Abdul Rehman, is also associated with the franchise. Majority of the players in the squad also play for Sultans.

Sources also confirmed that three players, pacers Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, are set to be excluded from the squad on the basis of their poor performance. They will be replaced with players from the team’s second XI.

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Irfan has taken three wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 8.8. Meanwhile, Ali has claimed three wickets in two matches at an economy rate of 10. Bhatti is yet to pick up a wicket, after three outings, while conceding nearly 13 runs an over.

Southern Punjab’s squads for National T20 Cup

First XI – Shan Masood (captain), Hussain Talat (vice-captain), Aamir Yamin, Ali Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Saif Baddar, Sohaib Maqsood, Umer Khan, Umar Siddiq Khan, Zahid Mehmood and Zeeshan Ashraf (wicketkeeper).

Second XI – Naved Yasin (captain), Agha Salman Ali (vice-captain), Ahsan Baig, Maqbool Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Ali Usman, Anus Mustafa, Dilbar Hussain, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Mohsin, Mohammad Rameez, Mohammad Umair, Mukhtar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Zain Abbas and Zia-ul-Haq.