PSL final: David Wiese praises Lahore's energetic crowd

Lahore Qalandars’ South African-Namibian all-rounder David Wiese said that the feeling of playing in front of an energetic crowd of Lahore is something one can’t explain in words and it has to be felt by being there.

In an exclusive interview to Geo News, the 36-year-old said that Multan did well in the tournament and could be the favourite team for the final but he would also aim to repeat the same performance that he did against Islamabad United to help Lahore qualify for the final.

He said: “They've been the best team of the tournament. They've dominated a lot of the teams and they deserve to be in the position but we were the only team who have beaten them in the tournament so far. They will be favourites but in T20 cricket on the day, you never know what happens, one guy can just go and have a blind day, have a great day and win the game by himself.

“There's going to be a great game, I'm assuming that's going to be a packed stadium again, and the crowd is going to get behind us. And it's just going to be an amazing experience,” he added.

When asked about his experience of playing in front of full-house, cheering and energetic Lahore crowd, the flamboyant all-rounder said that the experience has been very great but it is something one can’t explain in words.

“It's something that you actually can't explain to someone until they experience it themselves. The energy and the support that you get from the crowds, it's amazing. When the pressure is on, you could just see them supporting you and it just gives you that comfort that everyone's behind you. And it's just an amazing experience,” he said.

David was Qalandars’ man of the match in their win against Islamabad United in eliminator 2 on Friday night. His all-round performance with bat and ball guided Qalandars to the finals against Multan Sultans.

The cricketer is confident of repeating the same heroics against Sultans’ but hopes that he doesn’t get to bat and top order does the job comfortably.

“I would like to repeat that performance every single time I get to play, but given that I play sometimes, that's not possible. And, to be honest, if I don't get a chance to bat, then it means that we go well, and the guys are scoring run, he said.

David said that if he gets the opportunity, he would take it and put in a good performance for the team. However, he said that he will be pleased in any case as long as the team does well.

Recalling his Friday's performance, he said that he knew that team was few runs short and Qalandars needed a big over to post a defendable total on that wicket.

He also praised Lahore’s new skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying thay he has been amazing in his initial years as a captain and he sets a good example leading from the front.

He went on to say that Shaheen takes responsibility of early overs with the new ball and then takes over in the death overs. He's also not afraid to seek advice from the experienced players if he's not sure about something, David said.

Talking about PSL and Lahore Qalandars, the all-rounder said that it is amazing to see how the tournament and the franchise are producing great bowling talent every year.

According to David, what makes PSL so unique is that there is plenty of young talent, particularly fast bowlers.

"The standard of the league is definitely up there with the best in the world,” the former South African cricketer who now plays for Namibia said.

“Every single year, we come back for a new edition of PSL and Qalandars have found a new emerging player. It's amazing what Zaman Khan has done for us. He is playing his first PSL season, he has bowled the tough overs, he's so unique. There's something different about him. You know, there's definitely a big future ahead of him,” he concluded.