Pakistan Super League (PSL) is once again hogging headlines for a wrong reason as one of the franchises, Quetta Gladiators, fielded a replacement player and the player who he replaced in the same line-up.
Fans have questioned the professionalism of the league which has already been marred by several controversies this season, including the ball-tampering row.
The bizarre situation arose during Match 26 of the tournament in Karachi, where Gladiators were locking horns with Lahore Qalandars.
Ahead of the match, the Quetta-based franchise had announced that veteran Sri Lankan batter Dinesh Chandimal would join the squad as a replacement for New Zealand’s Bevon Jacobs, who was set to depart for national duty.
However, at the toss, Gladiators skipper Saud Shakeel revealed that both Chandimal and Jacobs were part of the final playing XI.
After the social media outrage, the General Manager of Quetta Gladiators, Nabeel Hashmi, said that the situation occurred because Tom Curran was unwell. Chandimal, despite being named as Jacobs' replacement, was instead used to fill the gap left by Curran for this match.
“Tom Curran was unwell and had to stay back in hotel. Chandimal came in for Tom in this particular match,” Hashmi wrote on X in response to a query by a fan.
His explanation didn’t sit well the fans and critics. Many argued that it effectively allowed the franchise to have an extra overseas player at their disposal, making it unfair for other teams.
Coming to the match, Quetta Gladiators defeated Lahore Qalandars by six wickets. Chasing a target of 135, the Gladiators won with 22 balls to spare, largely thanks to Rilee Rossouw’s unbeaten 60 and Hasan Nawaz’s 49. Usman Tariq was named Player-of-the-Match for his bowling figures of 3/18 in four overs.
