Masood wary of Karachi Kings, backs Afridi ahead of PSL 5 qualifier

Multan Sultans’ captain Shan Masood is expecting a tough fight from Karachi Kings when the two teams square off against each other in the first qualifier of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season five on November 14 in Karachi.

While speaking to Cricket Pakistan in an exclusive interview, Masood believes that Kings have a perfect balance between their local and foreign contingent, which makes them a formidable opponent.

“We would be playing against a very tough side. They have an outstanding Pakistani unit. Imad Wasim is leading them, who is a really good leader and is one of the best spinners in the world in this format. They have the likes of Babar Azam, [Mohammad] Amir and Iftikhar [Ahmed]. They also have Alex Hales and Cameron Delport as their foreign players so we would be up against a very good side. Since both teams finished on top of the table, we can expect a good match,” Masood said.

Masood pinned high hopes on the foreign players that will be representing the franchise in the upcoming playoffs.

“Every foreign player has played their part for us at some stage of the tournament. Imran Tahir has consistently performed for us and took wickets in the middle overs. Rilee Rossouw has been one of the top performers of the PSL since its inception. He played an extra ordinary innings for us against Quetta. Ravi Bopara is a seasoned campaigner. Plus, we have brought Adam Lyth, who is an opener for Yorkshire and has a great T20 record. We have match-winners in our foreign as well as local contingent,” he said.

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The 31-year-old is happy to see the progress leg-spinner Usman Qadir and left-hand batsman Khushdil Shah have made since March and believes that their game has improved since representing the national side.

“Usman Qadir had not represented Pakistan when we played the group stage matches. Now he has played for Pakistan and has taken wickets, so it is good sign for us that we will get an improved player for the playoffs and the same goes for Khushdil Shah as well. It is always good to have selection headaches, when many players are competing for spots in the playing XI. We are eagerly waiting for Usman and Khushdil to join our squad, so that we can pick the best combination against Karachi Kings,” he said.

Veteran All-rounder Shahid Afridi has not played any competitive cricket since PSL was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic in March. However, Masood is not worried regarding veteran all-rounder’s form ahead of the playoffs.

“There is no substitute for experience. Shahid bhai has played international cricket for more than 20 years, so a few months of gap won’t affect his cricketing ability. I have trained with him and his fitness is looking better than last season’s PSL,” he concluded.

FULL INTERVIEW