Pakistan leg-spinner Usama Mir has slammed Rawalpindi captain Mohammad Rizwan’s comments after the Hyderabad Kingsmen “didn’t deserve” their place in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 playoffs.
Rizwan’s comments come after a difficult campaign for his side, who have managed just one win in 10 matches, including a heavy defeat to the Kingsmen in their final league-level match.
During the post-match media conference after his side’s latest match, the wicket-keeper batter reflected on the emotions surrounding the qualifiers.
He admitted that his comments during the strategic deadline were made in the heat of the moment, adding that he later realized they may have been inappropriate.
“Initially, I wanted Lahore to qualify; I have a special fondness for them, that’s another thing. During the strategic deadline, I told Usman Khawaja that considering how Hyderabad played their last match, they didn’t deserve it. It may have been my mistake, for which I apologise,” he said.
“We feel bad for Lahore, but we can’t do anything,” he added.
The Hyderabad Kingsmen dominated their playoff qualification, beating Rizwan’s side by 108 runs to win. Batting first, the Kingsmen amassed 244-6 to bowl out Rawalpindis for just 136 runs.
The result left Hyderabad level on points with Lahore Qalandars.
Responding to Rizwan’s comments in a recent interview with a local sports platform, Usama Mir expressed deep disappointment at the tone of the comments, questioning the authority of such judgments.
“I was very disappointed with his press conference. They said they didn’t play good cricket but others didn’t deserve it. I was shocked. Do you deserve it? Who are you to judge that?” Mir questioned.
He further highlighted what he described as a discrepancy between programs and public statements.
“You go to a press conference and say that the team didn’t deserve it because they were all out for 80 runs. Your own team was bowled out for 100 runs in the entire match. What kind of comments are these? First, you played terrible cricket, then you hold a press conference as if you have achieved something extraordinary,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Kingsmen’s PSL campaign ended in disappointment as they failed to clinch the title in their first season. Peshawar lost a low-scoring match against Zalmi in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Next to bat, Kingsmen were all out for 129 in 18 overs. The rest of the batting line-up failed to form partnerships despite a struggling half-century from Saim Ayub, who scored 54 off 50 balls.
In reply, Zalmi was under early pressure at 40-4 before Aaron Hardy and Abdul Samad’s 85-run partnership revived the chase.
Samad scored 48 off 34 balls and Hardy made an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls to lead Zalmi to victory with 5 wickets to spare with 28 balls to spare.