PSL 2023: PSL a 'great opportunity', says Rahmanullah Gurbaz

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan cricketer Rahmanullah Gurbaz — who is playing for Islamabad United during the ongoing season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) — feels that the league along with others, around the world, provides cricketers with a "great opportunity" to learn about each other.

In an exclusive interview with Geo News on Saturday, the top-order aggressive batter said that franchise leagues help players improve their game.

He further said that despite having a different batting approach from Pakistan's national side Babar Azam, the skipper is his go-to person for any tips during this season of PSL.

“Cricket is the same everywhere," Gurbaz said, "the basics are the same and whatever is suggested by legends is almost the same thing.”

“However, I go to Babar Azam to understand his mind to bring more consistency to my game. Although my batting style is different from his style, I want to be as consistent as he is and that’s why I opt for his advice,” said the Afghanistan cricketer.

He added that he applied whatever Babar suggested to him earlier and that helped him score big in the game against Peshawar Zalmi in Karachi.

Gurbaz scored 62 runs against Zalmi in Karachi but could amass only 71 runs in the following five innings.

United next plays Zalmi in their last league match on Sunday and Gurbaz said he was hopeful of repeating the show.

However, he expressed dissatisfaction with his overall performance in the tournament.

“I did get a good start, but in the following games, I couldn’t perform according to my team’s requirement. So, I am not fully satisfied with my performance. I hope I will do better in the remaining matches and help my team win,” he said.

The 21-year-old said that he is enjoying the overall environment in United and added that, along with playing cricket for his franchise, he also considers it important to gather good memories during his time here.

“We have so many funny guys around in our team. Hasan Ali is funny — even Fazal Haq Farooqi makes everyone laugh. I am also not too different. All we do is have fun and enjoy our time around,” he said.

“I also join their famous Roti Gang at times. We prepare our traditional cuisine, they do theirs, I bring dry fruits from Afghanistan for them, so it is a family-like atmosphere with Islamabad United and Pakistani players,” said Gurbaz.

The Afghanistan Cricketer said that playing league cricket around the world has helped Afghanistan cricket and the team is not as weak as it used to be.

“So many Afghanistan players are playing various franchise leagues around the world so it has helped our team grow stronger, we are not what we used to be,” Gurbaz said.

“At this stage, my focus is on PSL. Once the series is over, I will think about the series with Pakistan but it will be a good series. If our players have learned about Pakistani players during PSL then let's not forget that Pakistani players would have learned about our strengths and weaknesses as well,” he concluded.