KP, Watson's absence would be a big loss, says Sarfraz

Sharjah - Quetta Gladiators finished runners-up twice in the competition, first to Islamabad United and then Peshawar Zalmi.

Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfraz Ahmed revealed that he doesn't know just yet which of his foreign quartet will travel to Pakistan for the business end of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) and added that the impending absence of Kevin Pietersen and Shane Watson would be a big loss to the team.
Quetta Gladiators finished runners-up twice in the competition, first to Islamabad United and then Peshawar Zalmi.
They were hit hard in the second edition when their array of foreign stars didn't make the trip to the final in Lahore.
A similar situation stares at them and the Quetta Gladiators face the prospect of missing two or more of their regular foreign imports.
England's T20 globe-trotter Kevin Pietersen, who had said that the PSL would be his swansong, has already confirmed that he will not rack up the air miles, while Australian Shane Watson is also in doubt.
"As of this moment, it is not confirmed yet which players are going and which players are not going. KP, I think is not going. Talks are ongoing with Shane Watson by the team management and the PCB. I have no idea about the other players. I do know that Chris Green and Ben Laughlin will travel," revealed Sarfraz.
The Quetta Gladiators have Pietersen, Watson, Rilee Rossouw and Jason Roy, who jetted into Dubai after England's sojourn in New Zealand.
They have Chris Green as cover for Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and Ben Laughlin as cover for Jofra Archer.
Sarfraz said that the Quetta Gladiators were the worst hit when it came to foreign players as compared to the other franchises.
Peshawar Zalmi had most of their foreign players making the trip, last time out, including captain Darren Sammy.
"The biggest problem is for our team because it is mostly our foreign players who are hesitant on travelling to Pakistan. So, if Kevin Pietersen and Shane Watson don't come, we will face a big loss. But we will try to take the best players possible," he said.
Meanwhile, the Quetta Gladiators went down to table toppers Islamabad United at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday night and Sarfraz said that they were probably 20 runs light after opting to bat.
"We have to do better with the bat, especially the top order. We lost too many wickets early on. If we had runs on the board, it wouldn't have been easy to chase on this pitch. We were 20 runs short. Had we got 170, there would have been a different scenario to the match," Sarfraz said.
The Quetta Gladiators made 147 for seven in their 20 overs with Sarfraz top scoring with 43. Islamabad United chased that down with six wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.
james@khaleejtimes.com