PSL 2023: One thing we lacked was game awareness – Imad Wasim

Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim admitted they lacked game awareness after their campaign in the Pakistan Super League 2023 ended on Sunday. KRK won their last match of the tournament against Lahore Qalandars by a huge margin of 86 runs at the Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore.

Wasim feels they should have won the tight matches earlier in the season and if they had done so, they could have qualified for the playoff stages. KRK lost their opening match against Peshawar Zalmi by two runs, suffered a six-run loss against Quetta Gladiators, and also lost to Multan Sultans by three runs.

Meanwhile, KRK was able to cap off their season on a high as they posted 196 runs against LHQ and then skittled out the opposition at 110 runs.

Imad Wasim said in the post-match presentation, “We should’ve won the first couple of games. All the games we’ve won, we’ve won by big margins. The positives are that the youngsters proved themselves. We gelled together despite being out of the tournament and we played for the pride of Karachi. It’s very frustrating, game awareness is key in T20 cricket. The way we played cricket throughout the tournament was fantastic. Captaincy puts a lot of pressure especially when your side is losing. Selecting the playing XI is very difficult, we had so many injuries as well. Our focus is to give opportunities to emerging talent. One thing we lacked was game awareness, about when to attack and when to defend. My performance was okay but if the team is not winning it doesn’t matter. It’s a team game so yes, I’m doing well personally but it doesn’t matter. Hopefully, we can come back and do well next year.”

On the other hand, Lahore Qalandars stand-in captain David Wiese admitted it wasn’t their best performance and wants the team to be at their best in the first qualifier against Multan Sultans.

Wiese said at the post-match presentation, “That wasn’t our best performance. Disappointing to come out here and not give the crowd a good performance. It’s a more fair contest here compared to Pindi. You don’t stand a chance there as a bowler. Over here the wicket is more conducive to better cricket. Just a better cricket wicket in general. We were just 10-15% off today. Was a different feel with Shaheen not out there leading us. Definitely looking forward to the playoffs, we worked hard to finish in the top two. Pretty sure it’s going to be a sellout. Want to come out in the next game and do the fans justice.”

Lahore Qalandars will face Multan Sultans on Wednesday at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.