Karachi Kings' captain Imad Wasim has credited the contribution of their former head coach, late Dean Jones after the team won its maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 title on Tuesday (November 17).
Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars in the PSL 5 finals by five wickets to lift their maiden PSL title. After leading the side to the maiden PSL title, Imad also expressed gratitude to Wasim Akram who stepped into Jones's role as his replacement in the play-offs of the tournament.
Notably, Jones died suddenly in Mumbai, India, where he had been working as a broadcaster for the IPL 2020, due to a cardiac arrest at 59 in September. Jones enjoyed a huge fan following in Pakistan where he was seen as a legendary figure both as coach and commentator.
Dean Jones had been named Karachi's coach for the PSL 2020, after guiding Islamabad United to two of the first three PSL titles.
Karachi Kings paid tribute to the Australian before their Qualifier against Multan Sultans, forming a 'D' shape on the outfield and observing a moment's silence and also carried a cardboard cut-out with them throughout the playoffs, with "We miss you!" emblazoned on its side.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Wasim said: “Dean Jones, of course, gets credit because what he taught us, very few coaches in the world can. Wasim Akram, of course, deserves the trophy because he was our bowling coach, head coach, mentor, and team president rolled in one. It's an honor to captain this franchise.”
On his team’s performance in the finals, the skipper said: “The way the bowlers bowled was fantastic. We misread the pitch somewhat, too, because we wanted to bat first, too. The bounce wasn't true, and so we varied our pace and lines, and I think our bowlers executed their plans perfectly.”
In the final, Babar Azam played an unbeaten knock of 63 runs and also won Player of the Tournament.
He continued, “We knew if Babar Azam put on a master-class we could effectively put our feet up in the chase. Obviously, anything can go wrong, and, in the end, we lost a couple of wickets all of a sudden, and that's why I'd decided to go in lower down the order, so we'd have some security at the end.”
The all-rounder signed off by saying, “Generally, when I bowl the first over, I can get a read of the wicket. Arshad Iqbal was an emerging cricketer but he played a crucial role for us today. If the fans had been around, it would have made it even sweeter.”
(With ANI Inputs)
