KARACHI: Karachi Kings’ assistant coach Ravi Bopara on Sunday, threw his weight behind experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz to “come good” for the side in the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9, terming him “credit in the bank”.
Bopara addressed the post-match press conference after Karachi Kings’ 20-run defeat against leaders Multan Sultans at the iconic National Bank Stadium and opened up on the ongoing rough patch of Nawaz.
“Nawaz has been playing T20 cricket for many many years, playing the HBL PSL from the day it started,” said Bopara.
“So, he’s built, he’s credit in the bank. Someone like him, who’s played international cricket, you got to give them a run, you can’t just drop them after four to five games. They’ve got to have a long run. They deserve to have a long run when they’ve played [so] much cricket.
“Lower averages say that people at that level at international cricket, they come good at some stage. And, you got to back them long enough to give them a chance to get to that stage.”
Ravi Bopara further commented on the revamped Karachi Kings’ squad and the rebuilding process, the former champions started since the start of this year’s edition and shared that he was impressed with some of the young players like Muhammad Irfan Khan.
“I’ve been impressed with some of the young guys like [Irfan Khan] Niazi. He’s come such a long way from where he was last year,” Bopara stated.
“The first time I saw him was last year and where he is today, is a big difference. He’s growing in confidence. I personally feel that he’s probably the best fielder in Pakistan as well and he showed it in this competition how good he is.
“He saves us easily seven to 10 or even more runs in every innings. And, his batting is really coming on and he’s becoming more and more powerful and confident.
“He’s certainly the future for Karachi Kings and some of the young bowlers coming through as well. Unfortunately, they haven’t had a chance to play that much. We can’t fit them in at the moment but hopefully, during the competition, you may see some of the new guys come through.”
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