Quetta Gladiators and Lahore Qalandars will look to keep pace with the leaders as they lock horns in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight clash today (Tuesday) at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.
Both teams are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table, with Quetta in fifth place and defending champions Lahore in sixth spot.
Lahore got a major boost ahead of the match as star leg-spinner Rashid Khan has joined the side and will be available for the encounter against Quetta.
However, the same can’t be said about Quetta who are set to be without experienced Sri Lankan cricketer Wanindu Hasaranga for the tournament. The all-rounder will miss the event due to non-issuance of No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
Lahore beat Multan Sultans by one run in the opening clash of PSL 8 after young pacer Zaman Khan defended 15 runs in the last over to win the game for his side. However, Shaheen Afridi’s side lost to Karachi Kings by 67 runs in their second match of the tournament on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led unit lost their opening match against Multan Sultans but bounced back to register victory against Karachi Kings in their next game. However, they once again suffered defeat in their third match of PSL 8 against Peshawar Zalmi on Monday.
"You are happy when the youngsters are doing well and improving. We are confident but there are small mistakes and if we can correct them then we will be good," Sarfaraz said after the match against Zalmi.
Squads
Quetta Gladiators: Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Naveen ul Haq, Umar Akmal, Will Smeed, Naseem Shah, Odean Smith, Mohammad Hafeez, Umaid Asif, Muhammad Zahid, Abdul Bangalzai, Aimal Khan, Martin Guptill, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qais Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Dwaine Pretorius (partial replacement for Odean Smith), Will Jacks (partial replacement for Jason Roy), Nuwan Thushara (partial replacement for Naveen ul Haq)
Lahore Qalandars: Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Abdullah Shafique, Shane Dadswell, Kamran Ghulam, Zaman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, Liam Dawson, Dilbar Hussain, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ahmed Danlyal, Shawaiz Irfan, Jordan Cox, Jalat Khan, Ahsan Bhatti, Sam Billings (partial replacement for Rashid Khan) and Shai Hope.