Pakistan Super League and non-inclusion of Baloch players

Sports, undoubtedly, make humans healthier and support financially. Similarly, cricket is the second famous game after football which has 2.5 million fans estimably. According to the researchers, it is being played from 13th century and was begun from Britain. After a long time, it became rare in many countries. In April 2008, India initiated a league named “Indian Premier League” to develop national players in international games. Afterwards, many countries started playing leagues including Pakistan that discovered PSL for herself.

Pakistan Super League (PSL), consists of six teams countrywide including Quetta Gladiators. It is one of the famous leagues in the world which is going to initiate its 6th season on 20 February.

However, Quetta Gladiators is known as a participant team in PSL from Balochistan but, unfortunately, it hosts no Baloch player. Recently, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced its 6th season and miserably no Baloch player was included again. It is miserable to inform that Balochistan, which is the richest province of Pakistan, has been deprived of every necessity in the field of sports.

Bismillah Khan, a right-hand hitter and wicketkeeper, has been slighted. He was selected as an emerging player in 2017’s season. He debuted his first match against Lahore Qalandars and gave an excellent result to the team by scoring 55 runs of 30 balls. He was awarded with Man-of-the-mach award. Afterwards, he was neglected.

On the other hand, Sarfraz Ahmad was appointed as skipper and wicketkeeper of team. But, if we examine, Sarfraz has played 8 matches for Gladiators in last season and totally scored 146 runs with a poor average 18.25 and a diminution strike rate of 132.73. Even he did not score a half-century. How could you hand the captaincy to these players that are included as batsmen but cannot perform splendidly?

PCB should learn from Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which always encourages its countrywide emerging players to associate Indian Premier League. IPL always welcomes its far-flung players, either they are from Dehli, Mumbai or from Kashmir, it doesn’t matter for it. But here we Baloch are being ignored.

The province has a large quantity of experienced-players including the areas as district Kech, Khuzdar, Awaran, Mand, Gawadar and many other regions. Every Gladiators fan is displeased by the non-inclusion of Baloch players. Hammad Mengal, the secretary of Quetta Gladiators, once stated well, “If you cannot include local Baloch cricketers in the Pakistan Super League then change the name of Quetta Gladiators.”

If the country can import Five Stars Hotels and new roads in Gwadar then why don’t they establish International stadiums? There is only one national stadium in Balochistan which was established in October 29, 1954. Miserably, for last 72 years, only one match was played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in October 1996 and that was recorded the one and only international match of Bugti Stadium Quetta. PCB should conduct few national matches in Bugti Cricket Stadium Quetta, too.

Only naming the team “Quetta Gladiators” without selecting any local players will not represent the province in league. I humbly request to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to encourage Baloch players to participate in PSL and make a space for them in national team.