After PSL title win, Imad Wasim hails contribution of late Dean Jones

KARACHI: As Karachi Kings won their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title, skipper Imad Wasim hailed the contribution of the late Dean Jones to the franchise's title win.

Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars on Tuesday by five wickets in the finals to lift their maiden PSL title win. Babar Azam played an unbeaten knock of 63 runs and he also won the accolade for Player of the Tournament.

"Dean Jones, of course, gets credit because what he taught us, very few coaches in the world can. Wasim Akram, of course, deserves the trophy because he was our bowling coach, head coach, mentor, and team president rolled in one. It's an honour to captain this franchise," ESPNCricinfo quoted Wasim as saying.

Earlier this year, Dean Jones had passed away in Mumbai, where he was working as a broadcaster for the Indian Premier League (IPL). Jones passed away following a cardiac arrest at the age of 59.

Jones was appointed as Karachi Kings' coach ahead of the fifth edition of the PSL in March. The side had progressed to the playoffs but the last stage had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Talking about the performance in the finals, Wasim said: "The way the bowlers bowled was fantastic. We misread the pitch somewhat, too, because we wanted to bat first, too. The bounce wasn't true, and so we varied our pace and lines, and I think our bowlers executed their plans perfectly."

"We knew if Babar put on a masterclass we could effectively put our feet up in the chase. Obviously, anything can go wrong and in the end, we lost a couple of wickets all of a sudden, and that's why I'd decided to go in lower down the order, so we'd have some security at the end," he added. (ANI)