Shot in the arm for Quetta: Sarfraz

Dubai - Coming back to the final, Sarfraz put it down to a bad luck and said that it was not their day.

Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfraz Ahmed said that his side's showing in the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) will pave the way for the development of cricket in the region and he hoped that more cricketers will emerge from Quetta.
The Quetta Gladiators were one of the strongest in the tournament and they plotted their way to the final. But they fell at the final hurdle, going down to Islamabad United.
"We want to try and take Quetta's name forward. I hope after this cricket will grow even more in Quetta," said Sarfraz.
"Generally, Karachi and Lahore are well known in Pakistan's cricket circles but after the PSL, I hope Quetta too can place itself on the cricketing map. There is talent in Quetta and we saw that in Bismillah Khan. And I'm sure the PSL will help unearth such players," he added.
The way he marshalled the team, which included the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Kevin Pietersen, Sarfraz has been talked up as a future captain. But he said that it hadn't crossed his mind.
"I'm not thinking about anything. My focus was only on the PSL and the forthcoming Asia Cup. When the time comes, we will see but for now, I'm not thinking on those lines and all my focus is on this," he said.
Sarfraz also said that he wasn't sure how he would be able to captain the likes of Sangakkara and KP but added that their good personalities helped him and the team. He also said that the team got to learn a lot from such experienced players. "Initially it was challenging because we didn't know how they are. But once we met and played with them, it was fun and we enjoyed playing with them. We got the opportunity to learn a lot. They are obviously great cricketers and they are good people as well."
Coming back to the final, Sarfraz put it down to a bad luck and said that it was not their day.
"It was bad luck because we had posted a good score but I guess it was not to be our day. Credit to the Islamabad team, they played really well, especially the batting. They had a great start and from that, they came back into the match," Sarfraz said.
"The wicket was good. We were expecting a good pitch for the final where fours and sixes could be hit. I think we were a few runs short but I still felt it was good enough. But we couldn't get any early wickets and that hurt us a bit," he added.
Islamabad United captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and asked the Gladiators to make first use of the surface. And Sarfraz said that Misbah being an experienced captain as well as being one of the most successful ones, might have read the pitch better.
"Obviously, he is a senior captain and he is one of the best captains of Pakistan. So, I'm sure he might have given it a lot of thought and had planned something. He probably read the pitch better than us. Also, experience counts as well, definitely," said Sarfraz.
He also praised the PSL and hoped that it could one day be played in Pakistan. "It has been tremendous for Pakistan. We had a successful PSL and the PCB organised it very well. In future, it will help Pakistan cricket and I hope it will be held in Pakistan," he said.