Dubai: South African leg spinner Imran Tahir may be one of the many foreign players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), but he is the darling of the Pakistan media. All the foreign players in the PSL field questions from the media only in English but Tahir, who plays for Multan Sultans, sticks to his fluent Urdu.
Tahir was born in Pakistan and played his domestic cricket before migrating to South Africa. He is currently the Proteas’ strike bowler and is among the finest leg spinners in the world. He stood out with three out of the five Islamabad wickets even in his team’s five-wicket defeat on Sunday.
The 38-year-old, playing for the first time in the PSL, has seven wickets from three games and is bound to bag more wickets.
For Tahir, playing in the PSL is like a return to Pakistan’s domestic cricket. When asked about how it is to play in the PSL, he replied in Urdu. “It is a great league. PSL organisers deserve a lot of credit. Frankly I did not think it was going to be that tough but now I am loving it.”
What makes Tahir playing the PSL tough is the fact that Pakistan players are good players of spin. “I am getting to bowl against batsmen who are good at playing the spin. The batting standard is very high and it is not easy for a spinner to just come and take wickets. I feel proud on playing PSL.”
Tahir enjoys challenge and the fact that Multan fought till the end against Islamabad. “Islamabad bowled very well as the conditions were in their favour. The toss they won was crucial. We as a team, despite in defeat, fought well and that is a good sign,” he said.
Tahir literally silenced the journalist who asked whether they lost to Islamabad due to complacency after winning the last two games. “If Shoaib Malek and Kieron Pollard had stayed on for another three overs, the story of the match would have been different. Islamabad played well and so all credit to them.”
Tahir then turned philosophical and said that he respects every team. “For us, every team is a big team. Respecting the game is important for us.” Tahir then went on to remind his former countrymen that he has achieved what he has from cricket due to the respect he has shown to the game. “I have done a lot of hard work in life to be here, what I am today is because of cricket and I respect the game, I don’t take any match for granted. I am trying my best, I take every game as very important game for me.”
