Lahore: Mushtaq Ahmad, former Pakistan leg spinner and current head coach of the National Cricket Academy, said that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has gained the status of one of the world’s top T20 league and urged that only those foreign players be considered in the players’ draft in upcoming editions who signed the contract to play in Pakistan.

“It was quite unfortunate that leading foreign players opted not to visit Pakistan to play the play-offs, of the Pakistan Super League, which has undermined the strength of their respective sides and dented their prospects in progressing in the grand event,” he said in Lahore on Wednesday.

He said PSL is now a globally recognised T20 cricket brand and there is no need to give extra money to the foreign players, other than the contract amount, in case they play matches in Pakistan.

“Only those foreign players be part of the next edition of the PSL who sign contract to fulfil their commitment to play matches in Pakistan,” he said.

Answering a question, he said those franchises that are offering extra money to international players to visit Pakistan are not setting a good trend and the foreign players should be paid as per their contract no matter where they offer to play.

The former spin wizard was of the view that PSL has established itself as a top league around the globe and, in case foreign players are not willing to participate in it, spectators would still throng stadiums to watch matches played as part of the league.

“That stage is not far when the whole PSL will be played at home grounds in different parts of the country,” he asserted.

Mushtaq suggested that the organisers of the PSL plan ahead to hold maximum number of matches in Pakistan.

Even the services of our former Test cricketers can be hired in order to persuade the foreign players to visit Pakistan for PSL as foreign players will be considering the advice of the Pakistan players, given they have a lot of trust in fellow cricketers, he added.

To another question, he rated the Pakistan cricket team ‘favourite’ against West Indies in the three-match T20 series starting from April 1 at Karachi. “Considering our team’s performance in T20 matches, I am optimistic that it will beat West Indies in the series,” said.

“Our team is balanced in many ways and it also has the added advantage of home ground and crowd,” he said. “What I have assessed from the statements of Pakistan team’s head coach Mickey Arthur and captain Sarfraz Ahmad is that they will be selecting young performers of the PSL in the team, helping them to further hone their talent and boost their experience.”