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SHOAIB Akhtar lavished praise on Multan Sultans’ head coach Andy Flower, saying the former Zimbabwe international is a “one-man army”.
The Sultans won their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title after defeating Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs in the final on Thursday last week.
The Multan franchise endured a difficult start to their PSL campaign in Karachi, losing four of their opening five games.
However, Flower was able to rally his troops to stage a remarkable comeback in the United Arab Emirates leg of the tournament.
Former fast-bowler Akhtar praised the Multan Sultans’ coaching staff on his YouTube channel.
“Andy Flower looks a very serious man. He means business wherever he goes. The Sultans’ management is very smart. Azhar Mahmood also helped in making a great team. Andy Flower is a great guy and a one-man army. He united a team, which was down. Despite the change of owner and the captain, he made them perform,” said Akhtar.
The Multan Sultans finished second in the points table, which included a run of four consecutive wins. The Sultans, skippered by Mohammad Rizwan, peaked at the right time in the tournament.
They defeated Peshawar Zalmi comfortably in the finals after posting a mammoth total of 206 runs, batting first.
Following their title win, Andy Flower divulged that the boys in the dressing room didn’t stop believing in themselves despite their poor start to the tournament.
After winning the PSL, Flower said: “I think the best thing about winning this trophy is that we came back from nowhere, We lost four out of five in Karachi and I think most people had written us off. Importantly, I don’t think anyone in the dressing room had written themselves off.”
While Akhtar praised the Multan Sultans management, he took a pot shot at the Lahore Qalandars.
The former Pakistan pacer stated that the team had no method to their approach during the PSL.
The Qalandars finished fifth and missed out on a play-off berth based on the net run rate.
The team went on to lose their last four games of the season, messing up their play-off chances, which looked like a formality at one stage of the season.
“You have to mean business. If Lahore Qalandars will play 30 dot balls in an innings, how will they win? The coaching staff needs to think about how to get rid of these dot balls, but again there is no method to their approach. Lahore Qalandars management have very limited cricketing sense,” said Akhtar. – Sportskeeda.com
Online Reporter