Daily Times

Pakistan Super League (PSL) 04 champions Quetta Gladiators are going to Quetta on March 23 (today) with the PSL trophy to celebrate with the fans on Pakistan Day. The Gladiators’ contingent will be headed by their owner Nadeem Omar while others include captain Sarfaraz Ahmad, Head Coach Moin Khan, Ahmad Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Ahsan Ali, team manager Azam Khan and media manager Nabeel Hashmi. “We are very excited that the PSL champions Gladiators will share their happiness with home fans in Quetta. We saw jubilant scenes in Quetta when the Gladiators won the title and I’m hopeful that there will be even bigger celebration in the city on Saturday when the PSL trophy arrives there with squad members,” a spokesman for the Gladiators said Friday. He added: “This is massive achievement not just for us as a team but Quetta and whole Balochistan because people now know the region globally because of the Gladiators success. We are ambassadors of Quetta and Balochistan and this triumph will create a positive image of the province.” The Gladiators contingent will meet Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan at the CM House Quetta while they will also meet the Head of Southern Command Pakistan Army Lt. General Asim Salim Bajwa. “We want to promote sports in Quetta and Balochistan and I’ll try to talk to major stakeholders as to how we can create events together for the people of Balochistan. The Gladiators becoming champion could be a big launchpad to start sporting activities at a major in the region,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gladiators’ captain Sarfraz Ahmad, who lead Pakistan to ICC Champions Trophy title as well, stated he cannot wait to celebrate with the home fans. “This is going to be one epic experience for us and the fans because this could probably be the biggest celebration for people of Quetta and Balochistan. We saw videos on social media how locals celebrated Gladiators becoming PSL champions and we cannot wait to see their happiness live,” said Sarfraz. “There was a crazy reception all over Pakistan when we won the Champions Trophy title and I’m hoping that there will be a same sort of reception in Quetta on March 23. There cannot be a better day to celebrate than Pakistan Day.”

Published in Daily Times, March 23^rd 2019.