Hyderabad Kingsmen all-rounder Hammad Azam has hit back at comments made by Rawalpindi skipper Mohammad Rizwan, suggesting that Hyderabad ‘do not deserve’ their place in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 playoffs despite their dramatic finals qualification.
Rizwan’s comments came after his side endured a disappointing campaign, winning just one of their 10 matches, including a heavy defeat to Kingsman in the last league-level match.
Speaking during the post-match media conference, Rizwan reflected on his team’s inconsistent performances and the overall competitiveness of the tournament.
He emphasized the importance of consistency and speed in high-pressure matches, while also noting that the opposition teams had performed strongly in certain situations, especially in Lahore.
“They didn’t deserve the last match in Hyderabad. It might be my wrong idea, sorry for this. It’s my own opinion. If they go right from here and knock us out, they deserve it. The matches in Lahore, they’re doing well. They’re lucky to be playing,” Rizwan said.
Hyderabad Kingsmen clinched their playoff spot in convincing fashion, defeating Bindis by 108 runs. Batting first, Kingsmen amassed 244-6 to bowl out Rizwan for 136 runs.
The result left Hyderabad tied on points with Lahore Qalandars.
In a recent interview with a local media platform, Hammad Azam expressed clear disappointment over Rizwan’s comments, questioning both the judgment and consistency of the report.
“It’s a very bad statement, to be honest, when I heard this and saw their press conference, I was very disappointed because a captain who has been PSL captain for a long time, you’re a former captain of Pakistan, and you’ve decided that we don’t deserve it because one game went bad,” Hammad said.
He further pointed to RawalPindiz’s overall track record, suggesting that broader performance trends should also be considered when making such assessments.
“Now,Now, if we come to individual performances, they have won two matches in the last 18 matches, one this year and one last year. So, they have to self-analyze what they deserve and what they don’t deserve, he said.
“A game can go bad and there’s nothing like that. Against them, in the first match we played, we bowled them out for 125 runs. In this match, we beat them by more than 100 runs. So, that thing has to be our positive. So, I think we deserve it. We’re at this stage, in this place,” he added.
Hammad also criticized comments suggesting pre-match preferences for other teams, calling them inconsistent with the responsibilities of a professional captain.
“Then they said another weird thing in the middle, before the match, we wanted Lahore to win, I don’t understand you are the captain of a team, your team has lost 8 out of 9 matches. You should see us win this match and finish it on a high,” he said.
The 35-year-old stressed the importance of a leadership attitude and focus regardless of competitive outcomes.
“As a captain, you are the leader and you inspire your team to win this match. You have to win. Even in this situation, it doesn’t matter to us if Lahore wins, Islamabad wins, whatever. We have to see what we have to do, how we can win this match or how we can do better in future,” Hammad said.
He dismissed claims related to on-field instructions during a break in play, rejecting suggestions of unsportsmanlike intent.
“Then they say I came down at half-time and I told Usman Khawaja this is the last match, play badly. How can you say this? Tell me to go for the win or whatever it is to increase it. Increase it. Try to reduce the number of runs so that even if we lose it is not such a bad defeat,” he concluded.