Coach defends Qalandars, says no big changes for next match

Sharjah - The loss by eight wickets and 25 balls has pushed Qalandars to the bottom of the standings.

After the high of trouncing table toppers Quetta Gladiators by a huge margin of 63 runs only two days ago in Dubai, Lahore Qalandars fell flat and surrendered against some ferocious batting from Islamabad United's Shane Watson and Sharjeel Khan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday night.
Azhar Ali's Qalandars, put into bat by Watson, did well to raise 166 for 6 but some uninhibited hitting from Watson (79) and Khan (79*) reduced the match to a one-sided affair with both batsmen clearing the fence - 14 sixes in all - without much ado.
The loss by eight wickets and 25 balls has pushed Qalandars to the bottom of the standings. Another defeat for the team from Lahore on Friday against Karachi Kings, to whom they have lost by seven wickets in their first meeting, would certainly ruin their chances of making the playoffs.
However, head coach Paddy Upton has ruled out any major changes for the next match.
Speaking to the media after the match, the South African said: I don't see any big changes as we are playing our best players."
Upton was disappointed with the result though. "It is disappointing to have lost tonight's (Wednesday) game and I think that is the reality.
"But I'm very happy with the balance of the squad. The fact is that we have done fairly well so far -- we bat all the way down to No. 9 - which means there certainly are no big holes in the batting line up
Qalandars may have missed the services of Chris Gayle who didn't take the field due to a bout of flu. "Of course a player of Gayle's calibre is surely missed but again he does have a lower back concern so what's important for us is how we manage him through the tournament," said Upton.
When pushed to answer whether it was worth taking a gamble on Gayle in the team despite the player being unfit, Upton was quick to come to his defence.
"Picking an unfit player is a gamble for any team. Gayle had a surgery (lower back) in August last year and the rehabilitation of that takes up to a year or even more but he played the Big Bash and he was ok through that before this tournament so hopefully he will be able to get through this tournament as long as he manages himself well as he's got the big T20 World Cup coming up as well. Hence we are managing him and not forcing him to play every game.
"At present our main aim from the eight games is to qualify for the playoffs and once we qualify hopefully Gayle will be fit and ready to play all the qualifiers."
Upton agreed the bowling fell short. "The bowling has fallen short a bit but if you look at the conditions like Dubai the majority of teams batting second won the games because conditions were better to bat in the second half of the game.
"It's difficult to bowl with the wet ball but that said we did not execute our plans well. We lost all four of the four tosses so we have always got the wrong side of the conditions. I thought today 166 was a par score but once the dew factor came in and the ball started getting wet the bowlers were seen trying to dry the ball so the conditions were against the bowling team.
"Also the four catches that we dropped made it difficult to defend a total like that."
"So I'm not too concerned although I am disappointed with the result," he said.
However, one batsman who was pleased with his performance was Sharjeel Khan. The left-handed batsman failed to make the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup and the World T20 but has probably sent out a warning signal to the selectors with his 43-ball 79.
Sharjeel didn't seem overawed by his opening partner Watson as he went about his batting without any reservations.
Speaking about missing the cut, he said: "Yes, I do want to play for Pakistan but my performances are always up and down. Hopefully I will be more consistent in the other matches of the PSL to be noticed.
Sharjeel's slow running between the wickets and poor fielding has been his Achilles heel.
"I have been working on my fielding and other aspects during off season. Fitness does not come in a day. I have been playing for four months now and once there is a break I will continue to work on my fitness as it not only helps me but also my team. I have improved in my fielding but there is room to do better."
clareto@khaleejtimes.com