Dubai: Pakistan’s legendary leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmad, who is assistant coach as well as the bowling coach of the Karachi Kings team, is busy making the boys in his side bond like brothers. Mickey Arthur is the head coach of the team.
In an interview with Gulf News, Mushtaq, who is the most sought-after spin bowling coach in the world having served as England and Pakistan spin coach, said: “Our team combination is excellent. Our coaching unit is trying to bring all the players in the team together during this short span. We are trying to create a family-like environment for Karachi Kings. We want them to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) like a family than like they play in a usual cricket match.”
Mushtaq, who is well known for his experiments with his bowling, transformed leg spin into a powerful weapon and groomed many youngsters into fine leg-spinners. When asked whether he will be giving tips to sharpen players’ skills during the PSL, Mushtaq said: “I think this time it is very hard to speak of technical things during this tournament due to the short time span but I personally think they are a good bunch of bunch of players and we are trying to help them out as much as we can. We will pass on our experience to them and hopefully they can go and deliver there.”
Mushtaq had closely observed the wickets here when he was bowling coach of England and Pakistan, and so, when asked what was needed to win on these wickets, he said: “More than the wicket one should adapt to the conditions here. It is just about going there and doing your basics right. Never ever lose your basics, it doesn’t matter whatever format you play in. Whoever has strong basics and simple technique, they will be more successful. My message to everyone is to go and express yourself.”
Mushtaq is delighted that PSL has finally taken off. “PSL will go a long (way) and will help Pakistan cricket. This tournament will give lots of youngsters the freedom and a platform to go and express themselves and go on to represent Pakistan. I think PSL will do great things for Pakistan cricket.”
Karachi King is owned by ARY Media Group, a media company which operates different channels in Pakistan. Shoaib Malek, the skipper of the Karachi Kings, said: “It is a good thing that our team has been bought by a channel and when a channel is supporting a team, even if you do well a little bit, you will get extra exposure - and it is going to be a great opportunity to perform and clinch a place in the national team.”