Vivian Richards set to mentor Quetta Gladiators in PSL
Richards famously never lost a Test series as West Indies captain.
(Web Desk) - Legendary West Indies batsman Vivian Richards has been roped in by the Quetta Gladiators franchise and he will mentor the players during the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is set to begin in Dubai and Sharjah on February 4 this year.
Welcome the fearless and charismatic Sir Viv Richards as Mentor of Quetta Gladiators @vivrichards56 @thePSLt20 #PSL pic.twitter.com/RcBBloOrFI
— Quetta Gladiators (@TeamQuetta) December 31, 2015
Nadeem Omar, owner of the franchise said that Richards was a major signing for them as his presence would certainly boost the morale of the side.
"Richards has agreed to join us in Dubai and will remain with us for the duration of the league," he said.
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Richards was the most destructive batsman of his era, and while there are many with greater records, few could take on, intimidate, and rip to shreds bowling attacks like he did.
During his 17-year career, he scored 8540 Test runs at a 50+ average with 24 centuries in 121 matches.
He made his Test debut in 1974 in India, and scored an unbeaten 192 in his very second game.
Just 2 years later, in 1976, Richards scored 1710 runs at an average of 90 with 7 centuries from 11 Tests. It remained a record for almost 30 years, until it was broken by Mohammad Yousuf in 2006.
He also scored the fastest ever Test century, when he smashed a ton in just 56 balls against England in 1986.
In ODIs, Richards had a strike rate of 90+ when he retired, a feat which wasn’t too easy in those days. He was part of the World Cup winning West Indies sides of 1975 and 79, and even scored a century in the latter edition s final to help his side to the title.
PSL FACING PROBLEMS
On the other hand, the PSL is facing problems even before its launch on February 4 with three current England team players announcing they would not be available for the full duration of the league.
Chris Jordan, Sam Billings and James Vince, who all represented England in the recent limited over series against Pakistan in the UAE have all been named in the squads for the ODI and T20 series in South Africa, which will be played in February.
While Jordan has been named in England s ODI and T20 squads Billings and Vince are in the T20 squad. England plays its five-match ODI series in South Africa from February 2 followed by two T20 matches the same month.
This virtually rules out the trio from the PSL as the England ODI and T20 squads will start training in South Africa for the series from end January.
More bad news for the PSL is that West Indian master blaster Chris Gayle is also unlikely to feature in all the matches in Dubai and Sharjah as he is consulting specialists to get treatment for a chronic back problem in Australia, where he is active in the Big Bash.
