DUBAI: Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene on Tuesday said he has been very impressed with the standard of Pakistan Super League (PSL) and feels that young Pakistani cricketers now have a great opportunity to play against and alongside the best of world cricket here.

Speaking to DawnNews here, Jayawardene said: “The PSL experience will benefit the younger players from Pakistan. Though there has not been any international cricket in Pakistan since 2009, the UAE has become the new home of their cricket and they are almost unbeatable here.

“With the PSL happening here now, I feel that the upcoming players will learn tremendously by playing with the world class players and also showcase their talent to the world.”

A brilliant, prolific Sri Lankan player and captain of his time, Jayawardene said that last year PSL was a great success and in presence of more world class players this time round, it promises to blossom even furtherRegarding his own team Karachi Kings, Jayawardene said that in presence of Mohammad Amir, Chris Gayle and others, the team looks more balanced and strong. “We are confident of giving a much better performance this time. We had a couple of practice sessions today as all Pakistan and foreign players have reached here.

“Personally, I am really happy to be with Karachi Kings and keen to go out there to perform for my team,” Jayawardene said.

The Sri Lankan veteran also praised young batting sensation Babar Azam and predicted that he will do Pakistan proud with many fine knocks in the future. “I saw him batting well recently against Australia and he surely is a great talent. We had some session together and as the league progresses, we will interact more and discuss finer points of batting with Baber.

“I don’t want to put him under any pressure and it is better for him to play his natural game. The more he plays the more he will improve,” Jayawardene said of young Babar.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2017