KARACHI: Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi highlighted the need to strengthen the bowling in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11th 26th match at the National Bank Stadium on Friday following a 6-wicket defeat by Quetta Gladiators.
The Qalandars had a relatively decent start to their title defense as they won two of their first three matches, but since the tournament shifted to Karachi, they have lost three matches in a row, mainly due to their consistent batting failures.
The defending champions have not been able to bat past 20 overs in their three matches here so far and their captain Shaheen admitted that they are struggling especially in the field in the current phase of the eight-team tournament.
Shaheen, however, still insisted on increasing his team’s bowling attack in the middle order.
“It is true that we are struggling now, especially with the bat in these Karachi conditions, but we are not out of the competition by any means,” Shaheen said in the post-match briefing.
“Bowlers need to step up in the middle overs and take wickets.”
Having lost three matches in a row and are in seventh place with just four points, the defending champions need a massive turnaround to book their spot in the playoffs as they now need to win their remaining four matches.
Their next PSL 11 match is scheduled against winless Rawalpindis at the same venue on Sunday, while they are set to bounce back for a second encounter with the Gladiators at their home ground on Tuesday after a one-day break.
Shaheen described the upcoming matches against Bindis and Gladiators as an “opportunity” and urged them to keep believing in themselves.
The captain further asserted that the equation was simple for the Qalandars; He has to win the remaining four matches but admits it will not be an easy task.
“The upcoming back-to-back matches are an opportunity for our batsmen to step up. We have to believe in ourselves and focus our energies on winning the upcoming matches. It should be a team effort because it takes a team to win matches, not an individual,” Shaheen said.
“We still have four games and the equation is simple: we have to win them all. We are ready to give everything, even though we know it will not be an easy task.”