KARACHI: Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri on Tuesday extended his wholehearted support for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Quetta Gladiators.

After hosting Gladiators head coach Moin Khan and team manager Azam Khan at the Balochistan House here, Zehri lauded

the outstanding performance put up by the in the PSL’s first edition while saying it helped the world recognise Quetta as a major force.

It should be mentioned here that the Gladiators played the final of inaugural PSL which they lost to Islamabad United.

“We will support Quetta Gladiators at every step because we own it as our team of Balochistan. They have made the whole province proud by taking the name of Quetta to new heights and we will not let them down,” Zehri said during the meeting.

“The efforts of Gladiators owner Nadeem Omer are immense in field of sports and we’ll back him and his team. We will be going to UAE to support our team in the PSL’s second edition as well and hopefully Quetta Gladiators will win the title this time around.”

The chief minister also recalled how Moin, a former Pakistan and ex-chief selector, used to lift the spirit of the players with his constant backing from behind the stumps and praised his efforts of helping Gladiators play with unity.

Azam Khan briefed the honourable chief minister about the work the Gladiators have undertaken in recent past which includes conducting a large-scale talent hunt and then training of the shortlisted players at the newly-named Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi.

During the meeting, Zehri said that it was his wish to see the Gladiators play the Afghanistan national team in Quetta.

“The Chief Minister expressed his desire of watching Quetta Gladiators play Afghanistan and we are open to the idea as it would pave way for return of international cricket. If security could be arranged for the match, the Gladiators would definitely play against Afghanistan in front of the home crowd,” Azam stated.

Published in Dawn February 1st, 2017