Quality of cricket in PSL is 'second to none': Ben Cutting

KARACHI: Karachi Kings' Australian cricketer Ben Cutting has rated the quality of cricket in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as "second to none."

The 36-year-old was drafted by the Karachi Kings for PSL 8. He has previously played for Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators and this will be his fourth stint in the league.

His wife Erin Holland is also among the presenters for the league.

When asked what brought him and his wife to Pakistan again and again, the Australian cricketer said that it was "the people and the culture of Pakistan.”

“We love coming here. This is my fifth visit to Pakistan. I think it's Erin's fifth or sixth as well. So, we look forward to it every year. Coming back to the PSL and the country of Pakistan and the hospitality, the standard of cricket is awesome,” he said.

“I'm really looking forward to getting back out there in front of the full house, wherever we play, whether it's Karachi, Multan, now Lahore, Islamabad. It can be very exciting to roll out in front of a local crowd again,” the Australian cricketer added.

Talking about the quality of cricket in the PSL, Ben Cutting said that the strength of the competition makes this league different from other leagues.

"A lot of guys that haven't been here and played the PSL always ask me what it's like and the quality of cricket is second to none. You know, every team has got three or four guys that bowl at 140/145. They’ve got excellent spinners and all batters can smack it out of the park. So, it's always going to be difficult as a bowler you know taking on your calibre of batters," he said.

Speaking about Karachi Kings' strength, he said that the Kings have got plenty of power this year with James Vince coming into the squad and Sharjeel can also smack it out of the park.

"You got to take what happened in previous seasons for every team with a grain of salt because the squads are different, and the conditions are different. It's a little bit cool this year. So, we're not going to look back, We're going to look forward. I'd like the first couple of games and get into the tournament because what happened last year doesn't really matter," he said.

The bowling all rounder added that he is looking forward to bowling against Babar Azam in the tournament as he's always a fantastic challenge and a very competent batter.

"Obviously it's a bit of a loss to Karachi, but yeah, we fill that gap very, very well," he said when asked if the Kings will miss Babar Azam this year.