LAHORE: West Indies’ veteran off-spinner Sunil Narine and discarded Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal will be moving from Lahore Qalandars to Quetta Gladiators as part of a blockbuster trade between the two Pakistan Super League (PSL) sides.

The 30-year-old Narine, who has played two seasons for Qalandars in 2017 and 2018, could prove a valuable asset to the Gladiators, who played the finals of the first two PSL editions, in 2016 and 2017 but lost to Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi, respectively.

Right-handed Umar, who has been passing through a bad patch for the last couple of years because of his poor on-field performance and poor attitude which led to his ouster from national team, is being considered as an important addition to the Gladiators. The 28-year-old’s overall tally of 556 runs at a strike rate of 138 in 20 PSL matches brings more batting depth to the Gladiators.

The deal will also see Lahore taking Quetta’s first round Platinum pick and Quetta getting Lahore’s Silver round pick in the second round.

Meanwhile, Sameen Rana, chief operating officer of Lahore Qalandars, welcomed the addition of Rahat and Hassan to his team.

“We are very excited to welcome Rahat and Hassan to the Qalandars family. Rahat showed what he is capable of with the ball in this format with his excellent bowling last year and Hassan has impressed everyone with his determination and calmness on the field,” Sameen said.

Nadeem Omar, the owner of Quetta Gladiators, said, “Narine and Umar are world-class additions to the Gladiators squad ahead of PSL 4. Narine is a magician with the ball and one of the best match winners in T20 cricket. Umar, too, remains one of the most destructive batsmen in Pakistan and he will add much needed firepower in our batting. I would also like to thank Hassan and Rahat for being exemplary ambassadors for the Gladiators.”

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2018