Big names in the PSL - Worth the trouble and effort for the franchises?

[MenInG]

Chris Gayle, KP, Shane Watson, AbDV...

Big names, expectations and then the excuses and heartbreak for the PSL sides.

From fitness to issues related to poor performances, to refusal to travel to Pakistan - the end result is disappointment for the fans and monetary damage for the franchises.

Do we really need these names to make PSL more exciting?

 

[hadi123]

Of course we should try and get the best players to play in our leagues, is this even a question?

 

[MenInG]

Of course we should try and get the best players to play in our leagues, is this even a question?

Instead of holding your head, think about what they are doing. ABdV is leaving when LQ will need him most etc - We dont need cheerleaders, we need people who will take these teams to the top.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Also these players send a wrong message to the world. They are telling that Pak still isn't safe to visit.

 

[WengerOut]

Instead of holding your head, think about what they are doing. ABdV is leaving when LQ will need him most etc - We dont need cheerleaders, we need people who will take these teams to the top.

I don't think PSL is in a position to dictate which stars should play. Till then they should be happy with "Something is better than nothing"

 

[shaaik]

Most of the over seas stars have been disappointment for me in this year's PSL. waiting for the league to be moved to paksitan and see some crowd in the stadium which would surely light it up..

 

[Saj]

I wonder what the actual situation regarding de Villers is.

Seems like he doesn't fancy going to Karachi and will have probably said to LQ that he had only agreed to go to Lahore.

 

[Savak]

Questions have to be asked if ABD cheated the LQ's and the PCB?

 

[Hasan123]

Franchises other than Islamabad aren’t interested in backing youth so I have no issue with top overseas talent playing in the PSL if we aren’t going to move the whole tournament to Pakistan.

 

[Abdullah719]

Quetta will not miss me in Pakistan, says Shane

Shane Watson steered Quetta Gladiators to an eight-wicket win over Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League match held at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Watson with his man-of the-match winning knock of 91 topped the leading run-scorers with 317 runs from eight matches. But despite the heroics and absolute domination over the Peshawar opponent, the Australian said his services will not be missed as the playoffs will be held in Karachi.

Watson is still in 'talks' with his wife and parents about playing the Pakistan leg of the tournament.

"I have always liked playing against them in international cricket. I always enjoyed the support people of Pakistan have given me. I will continue to talk to my family. We will see," he said after the match.

Watson doesn't feel his services will be missed during Karachi matches. "We have incredibly talented squad. With the depth in our squad I am not worried at all. We have a stronger squad this year. We have filled few holes in our squad that we had in a last year or so," he noted.

Reflecting on his knock, Watson likened Abu Dhabi wicket with Australian ones.

"This is a beautiful place to play. I have always enjoyed batting here. It's probably the closest to what you get to play like in Australia. The wicket here has some good pace and bounce. The wicket in Dubai and Sharjah are nice but don't offer much bounce which I am used to," the Queensland all-rounder said.

Watson praised Ahmed Shehzad with whom he shared 129-run partnership. "He took pressure of me at times. It was nice to bat with him."

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/cricket/quetta-will-not-miss-me-in-pakistan-says-shane

 

[sjahmed23]

I would rather see a full house crowd and bustling stadium with some overseas players who are in the teams on merit than some mercenary T20 super star playing in empty UAE stadiums tbh...

Looking forward to matches in Karachi hopefully quality is good.

 

[RickyG]

With regards to KP, I think the situation is a little different as the first year it was kind of sprung up on him that he had to travel to Pakistan.

Quetta knew full well this year and last year that Watson would sit out and seem to be comfortable with it. He did get them qualified for the playoffs so you can say it paid off.

With AB, I guess he just didn't have the will to play for a franchise as ridiculous as Lahore.

Gayle is worth the trouble but he just hit poor form.

From next season, franchises should no longer pick players unwilling to travel to Pakistan. It's not about whether something is worth the trouble or not more so that these uncertainties should no longer surround the competition. The competition is established enough and will survive without a 38 year old Watson or 36 year AB De Villiers.

Although I do think, De Villiers may have been more motivated if he was playing for a better franchise.

 

[SameerK]

I think what happened with AB is that Lahore persuaded him to play two games at home for the sake of the fans and franchise which he agreed and now with the games being moved to Karachi he probably doesn't want to take the risk and probably doesn't see the point in coming for 2 games. Franchises however need to be stronger and pick players willing to appear in Pak as those are the games in the tournament that make or break.

I wonder though how much Quetta will be impacted by Watson not travelling, which is a shame as he's one of the if not the best player in the tournament right now. I don't want Quetta losing out the title because of their key players leaving like in PSL 2.

 

[Savak]

These Foreign players have now seen 3 PSL finals being played in Pakistan, they have seen around 15 international games being played in Pakistan since 2015. The PCB, Franchises need to act tough otherwise if left to these foreign players they will never play in Pakistan.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Colin Munro is coming.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Feel like Watson wouldnt mind coming to Pakistan, but his wife and family isnt really keen lol

 

[hadi123]

Instead of holding your head, think about what they are doing. ABdV is leaving when LQ will need him most etc - We dont need cheerleaders, we need people who will take these teams to the top.

He's injured, how is he ditching anyone?

 

[MenInG]

He's injured, how is he ditching anyone?

Read posts above and see what people are saying.

 

[hadi123]

Read posts above and see what people are saying.

No one has any proof.

 

[barah_admi]

Chris Gayle, KP, Shane Watson, AbDV...

Big names, expectations and then the excuses and heartbreak for the PSL sides.

From fitness to issues related to poor performances, to refusal to travel to Pakistan - the end result is disappointment for the fans and monetary damage for the franchises.

Do we really need these names to make PSL more exciting?

If a player is not willing to sign to travel to Pakistan, then he should not be part of the PSL, plain and simple.

However, not much can be done about form and injury (Gayle has been pretty mediocre at best in recent leagues but found form against England....no one can control that).

 

[Haroon786]

Thought AB was injured?? [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION]

 

[Abdullah719]

Thought AB was injured?? [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION]

Yes, that's the reason he won't be visiting Karachi. Officially anyway, and I don't really doubt the reason as he did jar his back during one of the games and he has a history of back issues. But announcing this right after the matches were shifted to Karachi obviously resulted in some people being sceptical about it.

Personally, I agree with the sentiment of the thread from one viewpoint - the one where Watson is a key player for QG, but won't be available (probably) for the matches in Karachi. QG will be dented in the knockouts. Similarly, AB's availability was known before the tournament. His initial contract with LQ was for only 7 games. I'm not a fan of signing overseas players for only a portion of the tournament, specially if that is the initial part of the tournament with them missing during the latter stages. This results in that team struggling during the knockouts and the whole team combination requires a change.

However, that doesn't mean that 'big names' shouldn't be pursued at all. But teams should do due diligence.

 

[Haroon786]

Yes, that's the reason he won't be visiting Karachi. Officially anyway, and I don't really doubt the reason as he did jar his back during one of the games and he has a history of back issues. But announcing this right after the matches were shifted to Karachi obviously resulted in some people being sceptical about it.

Personally, I agree with the sentiment of the thread from one viewpoint - the one where Watson is a key player for QG, but won't be available (probably) for the matches in Karachi. QG will be dented in the knockouts. Similarly, AB's availability was known before the tournament. His initial contract with LQ was for only 7 games. I'm not a fan of signing overseas players for only a portion of the tournament, specially if that is the initial part of the tournament with them missing during the latter stages. This results in that team struggling during the knockouts and the whole team combination requires a change.

However, that doesn't mean that 'big names' shouldn't be pursued at all. But teams should do due diligence.

Yeah strange timing by AB.

I definitely think big name players should be a part of the PSL and that they are needed to bolster ratings and popularity of the league up around the world. I really don't think there would be much difference between a National T20 Cup and the PSL if the players in the latter tournament were only Pakistanis. Regarding the issue of big name players trying to pull their weight around - we have to remember that from now on, at least half of the PSL games will be in Pakistan, so if someone can't commit to that, than there should be a simple policy of not considering that player.

 

[MenInG]

No one has any proof.

We are speculating. That doesnt need proof.

 

[MenInG]

Reports say Shane Watson had originally asked for $0.3m to play in Pakistan but then agreed to play without any extra compensation

 

[MenInG]

Another one bites the dust.... Corey Anderson 'unavailable' for Pakistan leg.