Pressure could have shifted if Kamran didn't drop catch: Zalmi coach

Peshawar Zalmi coach Muhammad Akram said on Monday that Islamabad United would have been in pressure if Kamran Akmal had taken the catch of Asif Ali.

Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropped the catch of flamboyant hitter Asif Ali in the middle of the game; later Ali hit three sixes to fast bowler Hasan Ali to take the Duminy-led team to the winning stand. 

Speaking in a post-match press conference, Akram said that he is proud of the Zalmi team for their hard work in the tournament.

“A few of our players were injured at the start of the tournament; Bravo, Hasan Ali, Sakib ul Hasa, Haris Sohail all were injured. Boys really worked really hard to get into the final. All credit to them,” he said.

Akram shunned the perception that the defeat was due to Kamran Akmal’s early dismissal in the final.

“Team is not dependent on one player, all the 11 players have a role in it. Kamran’s contribution has been very important, he remained our key player. Obviously, an in-form batsman not scoring runs affected us but it’s a team game,” he said.

The coach said that he feels that United batting line up should have scored 15-20 more runs, but he is glad on the comeback the team made through the batting of Wahab Riaz and Chris Jordan.

Responding to a question, Akram was all-praises for the Lahore Qalandars’ batsman Agha Salman and said that if he is taken into consideration by quality team management, he would be a future prospect for Pakistan.