New UAE captain Rohan Mustafa has ‘no issue’ playing in PSL final in Lahore if asked to

DUBAI // Rohan Mustafa, the UAE captain, says he is focused on the national team’s one-day international series against Ireland, despite potentially being a late recruit for the Pakistan Super League final.

The opening batsman was named on a reserve overseas player pool released by the PSL, which listed player who were said to be willing to travel to Lahore to play the match on March 5.

Quetta Gladiators became the first team to qualify on Tuesday night, but within hours the majority of their overseas contingent said they would not be playing.

Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright, Tymal Mills, Nathan McCullum and Rilee Rossouw all opted out of travelling to Pakistan, and returned to their respective home countries instead.

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Each of the remaining teams in the PSL have picked their choices of replacements, with the details to be finalised in the next two days.

Ahmed Raza and Mohammed Naveed, the two other UAE players who were on the initial PSL draft, were not considered in the redraft for the final.

“I was contacted and asked, if the PSL final was in Lahore, would I go or not,” Mustafa, a Pakistan national who has lived in the UAE since he was a child, said.

“I said I didn’t have an issue with going. They put my name in the draft for the final. After that I have not heard anything, so let’s see.”

For the two-match series against Ireland, the UAE selectors have stuck with the core of the side that played the Desert T20 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in January.

It means no opportunity has been given to Chirag Suri, the young opener who was signed to play for Gujarat Lions at the Indian Premier League auction last week.

The national team won their most recent ODIs, against Scotland and Hong Kong last month, and Mustafa wants the run to continue.

“The wins we had were a big confidence boost for us,” said Mustafa, who was appointed as the new UAE captain ahead of those two fixtures.

“Ireland have a good side but, trust me, we have prepared well for this over the last month. Hopefully we can play well and win.”

pradley@thenational.ae

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