I am happy Rizwan left Karachi Kings: Imad Wasim

Karachi Kings captain, Imad Wasim, has said that he is happy for Multan Sultans captain, Mohammad Rizwan’s growth as a T20 batsman.

While talking to media in Karachi on Monday, Wasim said that they couldn’t find a place for the wicketkeeper-batsman in the opening slot while he was with Kings.

“We couldn’t find a place for Rizwan in the opening position and we didn’t want to play him in middle-order. I didn’t want to change the opening pair of Alex Hales and Babar Azam,” Wasim said.

“I never said Rizwan isn’t a good player. I am happy that he got a chance to open for another franchise and he proved everyone wrong. He might have not gotten a chance to open if he stayed with us, so I am happy he left us and proved everyone wrong,” he added.

Wasim has clarified that he wasn’t involved in the decision to trade Babar Azam to Peshawar Zalmi.

"Babar's trade has nothing to do with me. It was our team owner's decision. He gave him the captaincy last year and he was the one who traded him this year. Being a member of franchise, our job is to make sure to win matches and nothing else," Imad said.

The all-rounder also opened up about playing under Babar’s captaincy last season.

"Everyone has their own style of captaincy. I believe you need to be aggressive as captain, especially in T20 cricket. This year, I will try my best to continue leading my team from the front and bring back the title," he said.

The all-rounder dismissed the notion that Karachi Kings have an intense rivalry with Zalmi.

"We don't feel any rivalry with Peshawar. There is a rivalry between Karachi and Lahore but that too only between the cities and not players. And to be honest, we enjoy that," he said.

"Otherwise, we take every team as a challenge because being professionals, our franchise demands from us to win the games for them," he added.