Homegrown hero Bismillah a big hit for Quetta in PSL

Barnaby Read 12:31 23/02/2016
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  • Quetta Gladiators are favourites to win the inaugural PSL final.

    Since the tournament began three weeks ago on the same ground, Quetta have swept all before them and lost just twice in nine outings.

    The likes of Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Kumar Sangakkara have provided the foreign firepower, with Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Gul interesting the Pakistani population. But for all their successes in this inaugural competition, the region is far from renowned for producing cricketers of its own.

    In last year’s Haier T20 tournament, they won just once and have struggled domestically in recent years, seen as the whipping boys of the local scene.

    An impoverished region, often neglected by the government, the Gladiators’ performances in the UAE have proven a fillip for people in Quetta who are all of a sudden watching their team steamroll the competition with an enterprising brand of cricket.

    And the moment Bismillah Khan smashed Lahore Qalandars to all parts with 55 from 30 balls in his first PSL match, Quetta was given a legitimate hero of its own.

    Bismillah made 73 in a second wicket partnership with Pietersen, largely outscoring the former England superstar, as Quetta chased down the tournament’s highest score to date.

    A Pathan, from Quetta, had announced both himself and his home city of Balochistan to the world.
    Bismillah is the only player in the Gladiators side from Quetta and his innings may well prove one of the most pivotal moments in the PSL.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board is determined that this tournament will improve domestic cricket, particularly outside of the historical breeding grounds of Lahore and Karachi and Bismillah believes those seeds have already been sown.

    “There are actually more payers from Quetta who if they perform well will get a chance to be a part of the Quetta team in the PSL. Nadeem Omar (owner of the franchise) has been working very hard and has a few academies planned, so there will be more hope for people from Quetta, Insha’Allah,” Bismillah told Sport360.

    “Hopefully, playing like this, I can prove a very good component for this team. More talent will come forward as we get more opportunities especially with more facilities and all the opportunities that we will now get.

    “There’s a lot of talent in Quetta right now, we need to just pull the talent up. In Quetta people are overawed with the PSL. I have never been involved in something like this in my career so it’s pretty big for both me and the guys back home.”

    Bismillah is immensely thankful for the influence of Nadeem and captain Sarfraz, in both his development and the ownership’s determination to better the region, not just deliver success on the pitch.

    The 25-year-old says he has already been inundated with messages of support from local cricketers and fans back home who recognise the wider reaching significance of Quetta’s run to the final.

    “The perception of Quetta will change thanks to the PSL. A lot of players back home have said ‘man, you’ve opened the door for us’. It means we will all practice even harder than before to be involved in the PSL,” he said.

    “Nadeem Omar has been great, putting smiles back on the people of Quetta and letting them be proud of their team.”

    Bismillah kept his side in the team despite the return of Wright from injury for Quetta’s first qualifier against Peshawar Zalmi but a second ball duck means his place in the final will be questioned.

    If he were not to be given an opportunity his contribution to Pakistan cricket, particularly in Quetta, has already been enormous.

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