'Sarfaraz Ahmed is trademark of Quetta Gladiators,' says Nadeem Omar
Quetta didn't qualify for the playoffs since becoming champions
Quetta Gladiators' owner Nadeem Omar reiterated that their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is a trademark of the franchise.
After winning their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title in 2019, Quetta's performance started to fall down gradually. They didn't qualify for the playoffs since becoming champions.
Under the captaincy of Sarfaraz, Quetta won their only PSL title after defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the final at National Stadium Karachi in 2019.
However, the skipper faced a lot of criticism as Quetta failed to continue its dominant performance during the last four years. People questioned Sarfaraz's performance and also demanded his removal from Quetta's captaincy.
Speaking to GeoSuper.tv on Monday on the sidelines of a local event, Quetta's owner Nadeem, who remained a constant part of Sarfaraz's career from age-group cricket, backed the wicket-keeper batter against all the criticism.
"I always say one thing, Sarfaraz is our hero and will remain our hero. Sarfaraz grew up in front of me, he won us U19 World Cup and Champions Trophy. Unfortunately, we unceremoniously dump players with lots of services for the country," he lamented.
"Sarfaraz is a very good human and a cricketer. Recently, he proved himself during the Test series against New Zealand. We can't throw him out just because people are saying,
"He is our trademark and Quetta will never leave him. We have time till next PSL, we will sit with Sarfaraz and discuss. I am sure Sarfaraz will never want Quetta's downfall," he highlighted.
Sarfaraz played all PSL games for Quetta until missing two games this year due to injury. He has remained the captain of Quetta since the first PSL season in 2016.
In this year's PSL, Quetta finished last with six points. To a query about their poor performance this year, the owner said they will not make excuses.
"We didn't play well," said Nadeem. "We are not going to make excuses. But yes, there were a few drawbacks which unfortunately hurt us. Our platinum pick Hasaranga didn't join us. A player of his or Rashid Khan's caliber obviously brings a lot of potential to your side," he maintained.
"His four overs created a lot of problems for us. We lost close matches due to these four overs. We will go back and think about our mistakes and comeback stronger next year," he concluded.
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