Head coach Moin Khan criticised captain Sarfaraz Ahmed after Quetta Gladiators were disqualified from the current Pakistan Super League and explained why stumper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is superior to him. The 35-year-old hasn’t been able to prove himself in the game’s shortest format for the past two years, the former cricket player added that if he can’t double his effort, he should give up his spot to a kid. Rilee Rossouw, a South African international who had been in outstanding form in the current competition, was released by the team, which Moin said was a grave error.
“Sarfaraz has been struggling in T20 since last two years. You have to perform better than your competition in order to get a spot in the national team. Rizwan worked hard and is reaping the rewards now. Rizwan is a sensible guy and is always among the top in ICC rankings. So if you have a competitor like that, then you should double your hard work or give way to a youngster.
Quetta Gladiators made a mistake by releasing Rilee Rossouw. I regret that because I rate him very highly in T20,” Moin said as quoted by Cricket Pakistan. The head coach also explained why Azam Khan had been released before the seventh edition. He claimed that because Sarfaraz was present, the young person wasn’t given enough opportunities, and they were forced to make the difficult choice to release him.
“Similarly, we had to release Azam Khan. It was for the betterment of his career because he was not getting a spot in team as wicketkeeper because we already had Sarfaraz as a keeper,” Moin added. Notably, the Gladiators finished their season with only three wins and seven defeats to their name. They are currently second last on the points table but if Karachi Kings manage to beat Lahore Qalandars in their final fixture, the Gladiators will finish at the bottom of the table.