Just like the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is starting later this month. In what won’t be palatable to PSL fans for sure, ace West Indies left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie won’t be featuring in the upcoming season for Lahore Qalandars, if reports are to be believed.
However, there is no explanation as to why Motie has opted out of the league. He was stuck in India until a few days back, in Kolkata, to be precise. The West Indies lost to India in what was a virtual quarterfinal on March 1, but the Iran-Israel war stood in their way of flying back to their home country the day after. The airspace operations over a large part of the world have been affected, and that was the reason why the Caribbean team was forced to stay put in India for a week before flying out finally.
One wonders if the travel uncertainty the world over was the reason why Motie opted to pull out. Well, if he had that in mind, he can’t be blamed. Nobody would want to be stuck in an unfamiliar place, away from their family and friends, for days or even weeks. Who knows?! The way wars go, one can’t be too certain.
Good replacement already on the cards!
Now that Motie is out of the picture, the PSL franchise is likely to go for Sri Lanka spinner Dunith Wellalage, who took seven wickets in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup. In a match against England in the Super 8s, the Sri Lankan spinner had turned in brilliant figures of 3/26, but unfortunately, his team had failed to chase down a modest 147, spoiling all this good work.
Motie, on the other hand, featured in all seven games for his team and took 10 wickets in all with a wee under 8 economy rate. He took 3/33 in the Caribbean team’s stunning win against England in a group match. However, his best figures (4/28) came against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s as the archipelago nation comfortably won the match.
If the Wellalage signing is confirmed, he will join his Sri Lanka T20 captain Dasun Shanaka at the Lahore franchise. It may be noted the franchise has won three editions in the last four years.
