In a keenly contested and well attended game, the Faisalabad Wolves emerged victorious by 36 runs with the Pakistan Test and ODI captain, Misbah-ul-Haq lifting the trophy as his players looked on with pride.

Emerging batsman, Ali Waqas of Faisalabad Wolves was a key member of the Wolves outfit and speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net, he put down his team’s performance to the quality of leadership provided by Misbah-ul-Haq.

by Amir Husain (1st April 2013)

In the absence of the now postponed Pakistan Super League (PSL), the recently concluded 3rd edition of the Faysal Bank Super 8 T20 tournament represented a perfect opportunity for senior and junior players to renew or present their credentials to the millions of cricket fans, in and outside Pakistan.

For the senior players, many of whom have returned from a dismal tour of South Africa, this was a chance to put their woes behind and start afresh whilst for the juniors, this was an occasion where they could get the feel of playing top level cricket in front of TV cameras and enthusiastic crowds.

The stakes were thus high and the 6 day competition did not disappoint with some thrilling games played in front of near capacity crowds at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Whilst the much vaunted and fancied Lahore Lions were unable to make it to the finals, the equally impressive Sialkot Stallions led by Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik faced up to Misbah-ul-Haq’s Faisalabad Wolves.

In a keenly contested and well attended game, the Faisalabad Wolves emerged victorious by 36 runs with the Pakistan Test and ODI captain, Misbah-ul-Haq lifting the trophy as his players looked on with pride.

Emerging batsman, Ali Waqas of Faisalabad Wolves was a key member of the Wolves outfit and speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net, he put down his team’s performance to the quality of leadership provided by Misbah-ul-Haq.

“We are obviously overjoyed with our victory in this tournament, especially given the quality of opposition we faced and the only real reason for our victory was Misbah-ul-Haq and his leadership. Yes we had some good individual performances against teams with very famous International names, but each one of us wanted to do this for Faisalabad and our captain who is a great leader,” said Waqas.

Whilst his own performance in this tournament was, by his own high standards, below par, Waqas did end up as 6th highest scorer with an average of 22.6 spread over 5 innings and 113 runs. This was an aspect of the tournament which disappointed him immensely as he stated “I am not satisfied with my performance at all – I was doing well until the Semi Finals but the last 2 games proved to be totally unfruitful for me. Ideally I wanted to top the batting averages in the tournament but unexpectedly failed to score towards the end of the tournament.”

The achievement of Faisalabad Wolves in lifting the trophy is also remarkable given that unlike some of their more distinguished rivals, they lacked many big names from international cricket but the presence of Saeed Ajmal in their ranks more than made up for any shortfall in that aspect. Whilst Saeed Ajmal had been ruled out of the tournament due to a hernia, he made a surprise appearance in the all important final game which undoubtedly had an effect on the morale of the team.

“This was a great boost for us as Saeed Ajmal is a bowler who has a tremendous impact on the opposition who have to face him. This was a key factor in our triumph. We knew that Sialkot would not attack Ajmal and on top of that other bowlers also supported him. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t play in the Semi-Finals but he made a big difference in the final game” 

Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal may have been the big names for Faisalabad but the role of the younger and ever improving Pakistani Test player, Ehsan Adil cannot be underestimated either. The twenty-year-old has a maturity in him which was of great comfort to Faisalabad and his 3 wickets in the final against Sialkot played an important part in turning the game in his teams favour. Ali Waqas paid glowing tributes to the youngster declaring him a great asset for the future of Faisalabad and Pakistan. 

“He is a great find for Faisalabad and Pakistan. He is a bowler who impresses in all formats of the game. He might be young but his confidence is incredible and he can perform flawlessly under pressure. He is competitive and hardworking and has set specific goals for himself – the result of that was plain for all to see in this tournament”

The lack of international cricket in Pakistan has been quoted as a major factor in the struggles faced by Pakistani players when they play overseas – with a tournament like the Faysal Bank Super 8 T20, the participating players are able to feel and experience some of the excitement associated with high profile competition and Waqas is impressed by what he saw throughout the six days of this tournament.

“For any player, this tournament is a great step towards recognition at the highest level. It’s seen on television screens around the country and the world, it’s watched by the general public and there is pressure of the media exposure as well as from the spectators. This is pretty close to an international game and important for players such as myself as a good performance here immediately makes you a recognised player which can lead to more success later”

Faisalabad Wolves will feel indebted to the likes of its current stars such as Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal for their success but it’s the future represented in the shape of Ali Waqas, Ehsan Adil and their colleagues which bodes well for Pakistan’s future bench strength.

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