Morgan wishes the best of luck for Karachi Kings

Dubai - Captain hopes to travel to Pakistan in the future

Karachi Kings captain Eoin Morgan wished the best of luck to his team and the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) and hoped to be a part of it again, and perhaps travel to Pakistan in the future.

The England limited-overs captain, who only joined the team during the latter stages of the competition following his international commitments in New Zealand, will not be making the trip to Pakistan due to family reasons.

But he wished his team all the very best for the play-offs. The Karachi Kings, who lost to Islamabad United in the Qualifier in Dubai, still have a chance to make the final at home in Karachi. They will take on the winner of the Eliminator between Peshawar Zalmi and the Quetta Gladiators.

"I wish them the best of luck. I've enjoyed the week that I've been here. It has been a pleasure playing. I thoroughly enjoyed my time last year and hopefully, potentially in the future, if an opportunity comes up, might have the chance to coming back," said Morgan.

After captaining England in the limited-overs segment in New Zealand, Morgan flew in to take over the reins of the Karachi Kings from Imad Wasim.

And Morgan revealed captaincy is a challenge be it leading the country or a franchise.

"I think captaincy is difficult regardless of when you take it over. It is a difficult challenge but it is a challenge worth taking on. Any team that you captain, can be difficult at different stages. I think with the talent in the side that we have, it is actually quite enjoyable to take over," he said.

Meanwhile, Morgan said that there was nothing the Karachi Kings could do after Islamabad United opener Luke Ronchi conjured a match-winning innings.

Ronchi smashed an unbeaten 94 from 39 balls to make a mockery of the 155-run chase.

"I thought we batted ok, we didn't bat at our best. I thought we stayed in the game and we certainly had a competitive total, not a match-winning total on the board and something to bowl at. I don't think we started that well with the ball and that allowed Luke Ronchi to get himself in and play in his aggressive manner. There were a couple of loose deliveries and from there he really took the game away from us. When you play an innings like that, it really is a match-winning innings," Morgan said.

"When a side comes as hard as that you can only do it for so long before they start giving you chances. And then, it is up to you as a team to take those chances and we didn't," he added.

The Karachi Kings fluffed quite a few catches and Morgan said that it was something they needed to look into.

"It is probably something that we will have to look at. We have dropped a few catches in this tournament, certainly since I've been here. At Sharjah, the other day, the dew was quite bad so that might have been a factor. But it is not an excuse and it is something that we have to deal with. Tonight (Sunday), that wasn't a factor, maybe a little bit of dew but not soaking wet," said the 31-year-old.

james@khaleejtimes.com