[EXCLUSIVE] "PSL is going to be even stronger next year": Darren Gough

[The Bald Eagle]

Former England and Yorkshire legend Darren Gough joins Saj for an exclusive chat after he took over as the new head coach of the Lahore Qalandars ahead of the Global Super League. Gough talked about some fond memories from England's 1998-99 tour to Pakistan and how they won the game in the dark.

He also discussed the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf and revealed that the upcoming PSL would be bigger and better.

With Aaqib Javed taking over as the white-ball coach, will we see Darren Gough in a coaching capacity with the Pakistan men's team too?

Main topics covered in this interview:

Leading the Qalandars: Discusses his vision and strategy as the new head coach of Lahore Qalandars.

PSL Expectations: Talks about the upcoming Pakistan Super League and what fans can expect.

Mentoring Haris Rauf: Reflects on his experience working with Haris Rauf at Yorkshire.

Aaqib Javed's Legacy: Discusses replacing Aaqib Javed and building on his foundations.

A Love Affair with Pakistan: Shares his fond memories of touring Pakistan and his affection for the country.

Coaching Pakistan: Addresses speculation about potentially coaching the Pakistan men's team.

Watch full interview here:

 

[MenInG]

Big shoes to fill - Aaqib's left quite a legacy!

 

[Amjid Javed]

Probably my all time fav England bowler Gough. Good luck to him

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Saj asked Gough about coaching Pakistan and he indirectly expressed a liking for that role given his good relation with Aqib Javed. But I personally believe Aqib won't do that because of his own insecurities.

 

[usman.sandhu]

I don't agree with Darren on how strong the PSL is. PSL is a very poor tournament, extremely low quality of cricket with no real international superstars participating..

We really need to stop over-hyping this low-level league. A league where Rizwan, Shaheen, Babar, Shadab and Haris are superstars; all of them have been badly exposed at the international level and have been really poor over the past 2 years..

Performances in PSL mean nothing, look at our international T20 performance, absolutely pathetic..

 

[Savak]

I don't agree with Darren on how strong the PSL is. PSL is a very poor tournament, extremely low quality of cricket with no real international superstars participating..

We really need to stop over-hyping this low-level league. A league where Rizwan, Shaheen, Babar, Shadab and Haris are superstars; all of them have been badly exposed at the international level and have been really poor over the past 2 years..

Performances in PSL mean nothing, look at our international T20 performance, absolutely pathetic..

I assess a quality of a league based on the following metrics

- No of high pressure games

- Quality of players (domestic and international)

- Quality of fitness standards

- Quality of fielding standards

- No of sold out games

- No of innovative quality 360 stroke play

- Production Quality

- Quality of Commentators

- Quality of coaches and staff in the dug out

- Innovation in terms of broadcasting, entertainment

Sadly the PSL has regressed on most of these fronts.

 

[Bewal Express]

The PSL has a captured audience( us) and in terms of the T20 leagues, it's quality is decent. To take it a step forward, we need more quality coming from the domestic setup and that won't happen until the PCB realise the close relationship between developing local talent with strong local infrastructure and the PSL.

 

[hassan918]

Surely, one of the best fast bowlers England have ever produces and I think he will do good with Lahore Qalandars. He has done a really good job with rebuilding the Yorkshire County Cricket Club ad he certainly has a sensible head on his shoulders.

 

[LordJames]

Really nice bloke in real life and all-round awesome guy but he is not equipped to be in the Coaching setup for Pakistan at any level.

I don't rate him high enough to be a great Technicical Coach but I wish him all the best as a person

 

[BouncerGuy]

I think it is a good change for Lahore Qalandars. He can bring some positive changes to the franchise.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Is he even the LQ head coach in next year's PSL?

 

[Savak]

To assess the true worth of psl, interviewers need to speak to individuals who have not played in it yet or individuals who no longer play in it out of choice.

We have had ex psl international players who have chosen to play in the BPL at the expense of the PSL and Ahmed Shehzad revealed that they revealed the following reasons

- Poor quality of Pakistani hotels and bad food poisoning episodes

- Insufficient recreation options

- They don't want to be locked up in their rooms for most of the time. They want an environment where they can bring their spouses, partners, kids over

- PSL pay is not competitive in comparison to the IPL, BBL, SA T20, ILT20

PCB has to address the above

 

[ataullah]

The list of players available for PCB and Franchises to sign for the PSL 10 draft.

- Steve Smith, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen, Alex Carey, Adil Rashid, Naveen ul Haq, Matthew Short, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Akeal Hosein, James Anderson, Dewald Brevis, Mustafizur Rehman, Alzaari Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Micheal Bracewell, Adam Milne, Lungi Ngidi, Gus Atkinson, Richard Gleeson, Lance Morris, Matt Henry, Brandon King, Dwaine Pretorius, Olly Stone, W O'Rourke, Dilshan Madushanka, Jason Behrendorff, P Nissanka, Mujeeb ur Rehman, Josh Phillipe, Chris Jordan, Kyle Jamieson, Sikander Raza, Shai Hope, Tom Latham, Waqar Salamkheil, Luke Wood, Keshav Maharaj, Leus du Plooy, Ottneil Baartman, Shakib ul Hasan, Sean Abbott, Jason Holder, James Neesham, Jhye Richardson, Joshua Little, Evin Lewis, Muhammad Nabi, Tim Southee, Tim Siefert, Jordan Cox, Sam Billings, Tom Banton, Ashton Turner, Nandre Burger, Kusal Mendis.

 

[Katwalindian]

Ottniel batman is signed by mumbai.

The list of players available for PCB and Franchises to sign for the PSL 10 draft.

- Steve Smith, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen, Alex Carey, Adil Rashid, Naveen ul Haq, Matthew Short, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Akeal Hosein, James Anderson, Dewald Brevis, Mustafizur Rehman, Alzaari Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Micheal Bracewell, Adam Milne, Lungi Ngidi, Gus Atkinson, Richard Gleeson, Lance Morris, Matt Henry, Brandon King, Dwaine Pretorius, Olly Stone, W O'Rourke, Dilshan Madushanka, Jason Behrendorff, P Nissanka, Mujeeb ur Rehman, Josh Phillipe, Chris Jordan, Kyle Jamieson, Sikander Raza, Shai Hope, Tom Latham, Waqar Salamkheil, Luke Wood, Keshav Maharaj, Leus du Plooy, Ottneil Baartman, Shakib ul Hasan, Sean Abbott, Jason Holder, James Neesham, Jhye Richardson, Joshua Little, Evin Lewis, Muhammad Nabi, Tim Southee, Tim Siefert, Jordan Cox, Sam Billings, Tom Banton, Ashton Turner, Nandre Burger, Kusal Mendis.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

The list of players available for PCB and Franchises to sign for the PSL 10 draft.

- Steve Smith, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen, Alex Carey, Adil Rashid, Naveen ul Haq, Matthew Short, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Akeal Hosein, James Anderson, Dewald Brevis, Mustafizur Rehman, Alzaari Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Micheal Bracewell, Adam Milne, Lungi Ngidi, Gus Atkinson, Richard Gleeson, Lance Morris, Matt Henry, Brandon King, Dwaine Pretorius, Olly Stone, W O'Rourke, Dilshan Madushanka, Jason Behrendorff, P Nissanka, Mujeeb ur Rehman, Josh Phillipe, Chris Jordan, Kyle Jamieson, Sikander Raza, Shai Hope, Tom Latham, Waqar Salamkheil, Luke Wood, Keshav Maharaj, Leus du Plooy, Ottneil Baartman, Shakib ul Hasan, Sean Abbott, Jason Holder, James Neesham, Jhye Richardson, Joshua Little, Evin Lewis, Muhammad Nabi, Tim Southee, Tim Siefert, Jordan Cox, Sam Billings, Tom Banton, Ashton Turner, Nandre Burger, Kusal Mendis.

That's a good list

 

[The Bald Eagle]

England players already doubtful, I think the 2025 window may hinder PSL's success.

 

[Savak]

England players already doubtful, I think the 2025 window may hinder PSL's success.

Let's wait and see. English players are not happy with the ECB for their double standards to allow NOC's for IPL but not for PSL. They are threatening to retire from test cricket and first class cricket if the ECB does not rethink.

 

[Theo_14]

PSL won’t be tougher. If anything it will decline in quality and competitiveness.

 

[ataullah]

MARQUEE PLAYERS IN PSL (reports)

There can be 6 to 12, marquee players, but there won’t be direct signings. They’ll be added to the platinum draft with guaranteed availability and selection,

-They'll earning $350,000–$400,000, nearly double the standard platinum salary.

 

[Savak]

MARQUEE PLAYERS IN PSL (reports)

There can be 6 to 12, marquee players, but there won’t be direct signings. They’ll be added to the platinum draft with guaranteed availability and selection,

-They'll earning $350,000–$400,000, nearly double the standard platinum salary.

Pakistani players are apparently protesting this i.e. why are the foreign players getting paid more than your local stars, that is a big insult. In the IPL, the local Indian players are the ones who get the highest compensation and only a few select foreign players get the million dollar pays

 

[ataullah]

Pakistani players are apparently protesting this i.e. why are the foreign players getting paid more than your local stars, that is a big insult. In the IPL, the local Indian players are the ones who get the highest compensation and only a few select foreign players get the million dollar pays

Pak players aren't the same quality as these Marquee players. They shouldn't have a problem. When they perform then they have the right to protest.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Should they offer him a coaching contract for PSL 2025 as well?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1864685175096901866

 

[BouncerGuy]

Should they offer him a coaching contract for PSL 2025 as well?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1864685175096901866

WHy not. In the absence of Aaqib, he can definitely take over. Lahore Qalandars management will be working for this IMO

 

[Bhaijaan]

PSL has over the years established itself as a league with the finest pace bowling at display. This gives them a unique position to be in. Lovers of the game anywhere in the world are always interested to see high quality pace bowling. IPL may have the batting firepower but its pace bowling quality is not at the level of PSL where Pakistani and even Firangi bowlers bowl with Jazba and Junoon.