A repulsive fairy-tale

Saifullah Bangash relives his time with Karachi Kings and talks about his future goals

Sitting in a room with walls decorated with two framed jerseys and a cap of Karachi Kings signed by the franchise’s squad, Saifullah Bangash maintained that his career was pushed back three years because the team did not give him enough opportunities.

Bangash was 19 years old at that time and was one of the finest wicketkeeper-batting talents in the country. Karachi Kings drafted him in for the inaugural season of the Pakistan Super League in 2016 in the Emerging category.

The youngster was over the moon with the news. “I was playing at the National Stadium Karachi when I got to know that I have been picked by Karachi Kings,” he recalled while talking to Bol News. “I was ecstatic as it was an honour to represent my city at that level”

“I used to live at Jamshed Road at that time and when I reached home, there were guests, everyone was excited, there were media and it looked like a festival.”

He further shared a part of him believed that if any franchise picks him, it would be Karachi Kings as he had played First-Class cricket alongside the team captain Shoaib Malik and had a good understanding with him.

Bangash was eager to shine amid all the cricketing superstars around him. He had attended a camp under the supervision of Mickey Arthur, who was the Kings’ coach then who was quite fond of the young man.

All franchises in the PSL are bound to play at least one player from the Emerging category and the wicketkeeper-batsman was confident that it would be him.

“I had it in my mind that I will be in the playing XI as the other emerging player was Mir Hamza and there was not much space for a fast bowler,” he said.

To Bangash’s delight, he played five games in the first season of the league but was sent to bat on only two occasions, once at the eighth position and then at the tenth number. He scored a golden duck in the first inning and remained not out on zero in the second.

He is certainly a better batsman than a number eight or ten. He, in the start of his journey, topped his region in the wicketkeeper category and performed wherever he got an opportunity.

Unfortunately, he did not get a chance to showcase his batting skills in the PSL. In the first season, he was replaced by Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim and then Riki Wessels.

After those five opportunities, the budding cricketer was retained for the next two seasons by the franchise but never got another game.

“I spent the next two seasons playing merely in the nets, where I was praised by everyone but didn’t get a chance,” he said. “I see people playing for Pakistan on the basis of just one or two decent performances in the PSL. It is saddening for me that I didn’t get enough opportunities.”

Being retained by a team in franchise cricket is usually morale-boosting for a youngster. However, in this case, Bangash’s journey was severely dented by the move.

“I definitely have a regret,” he stated. “It is not that I played for the wrong franchise, it is more of that I didn’t get enough opportunities from the team that picked and retained me for three seasons,” he said.

“I wasted the peak of my career in Karachi Kings,” he added “If I had performed in one season, I would have gotten a chance in some other team. They retained me, which means no other franchise could select me, but also didn’t give me an opportunity.

“Why were you picking me? To keep me on the bench? Even if some other franchise was thinking about me, it killed all the chances.”

The 27-year-old, who looked to be in the plans for the Pakistan national team before the PSL as he had represented the country on so many levels, suddenly vanished from the radar.

However, amid all the heartbreaks and disappointments, Bangash lived some of the most memorable moments of his life during his stint with the Kings.

He recalled the incident when Malik, the captain himself stepped up to win the challenge issued by the team owner Salman Iqbal.

“Our first game was against Lahore Qalandars. Before the game, Salman Iqbal announced whoever gets Chris Gayle out, I will give him $10,000,” he shared. “Malik came on to bowl the first over and got rid of Gayle.”

It was kind of a fairy-tale for the youngster when he met all the giants of the cricketing world in one place during the opening ceremony of the PSL.

“When we reached for the opening ceremony, I took a lot of selfies with all the stars, Kevin Petersen, Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and others,” his eyes lit up as he reminisced. “It was huge for us, the youngsters. It was new for us. We travelled, enjoyed the best facilities and netted with the best cricketers. It was one of the things that you just cannot explain in words and just live it in your mind.”

The wicketkeeper-batter represented Pakistan U19 for three years, played the U19 World Cup under the leadership of Sami Aslam and went on to play the final, shared the dressing room with Babar Azam in underage cricket and also toured for Pakistan A. It means he was knocking on the national team’s doors with his consistent performances at all levels.

However, after two underwhelming batting performances as a tail-ender, his career was jolted as PSL had become the nursery for national players.

Bangash has played all his cricket as a middle-order or lower middle-order batter, sometimes batting at the top as well in the shortest format of the game, but Karachi Kings made him bat just above Mohammad Amir.

According to him, he did not know his batting position and was unaware of the management’s plan regarding him.

“Only the coach and captain can tell you whether there was a plan or not,” he shared. “I didn’t know what spot I had to bat on. If you know your position, you are able to perform better. There was no discussion regarding it.”

After three seasons, Bangash was released by the franchise without any communication. However, the youngster had gotten an idea about their plans.

“I was not informed or anything, I was just not picked in the next drafts,” he said.

He was disheartened by the news but did not give up. He vowed to perform at whatever level he played and get the attention of the fans and other stakeholders.

However, things went further south as Pakistan domestic cricket circuit was revamped, which forced the departments to shut down.

As a result, Bangash, who had been playing for the Sui Southern Gas Company since 2015 had to play for the Sindh 2nd XI.

The 27-year-old has been captaining the 2nd XI side and performing well. However, that level of cricket is often ignored as many don’t know that he has led Sindh 2nd XI to the Grade II championship and other accolades under his captaincy.

He strongly believes that somehow he has to get out of that 2nd XI and make a place for himself in the 1st XI, which is not easy with Sarfraz Ahmed consistently playing for Sindh as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman.

The former Karachi Kings member still thinks that his journey towards Pakistan national team is not over yet; however, he has other avenues in his sight as well.

“It is easier to play for Pakistan now. In fact, I consider myself too in the pipeline. Yes, I have to perform at the First-Class level, but I am there somewhere.

“Kamran Ghulam played well last year and got on the radar. The same happened with Mohammad Haris. He just played a couple of good knocks and caught the attention of the selectors.”

The Sindh 2nd XI captain is under Pakistan Cricket Board’s contract. And according to him, these contracts pay better than what departments used to. Having said that, there is a downside to it.

“The problem is that you are constantly under threat and you need to perform in every single season to remain in the contract,” he said, adding that one bad season can cost you that contract and it will be a massive challenge to re-earn it.

Bangash is just 27 at the moment and he has a long career ahead of him. Keeping the financial aspects as well as other facets in view, he wants to have the options open.

He implied that he does not want to play the rest of his career trying to get a single chance to don the jersey. He maintained that if he does not get a chance in the next three to four years, he might opt for other choices.

“I always say you know yourself the best. If you are getting an opportunity, fine, but if you are not, you need to move on,” he maintained.

He stated that only a few lucky people get the opportunity to represent Pakistan at the highest level of cricket, so surely, it is his primary target as well but it is not the end of the world.

“There is cricket everywhere in the world now, so I don’t think it is challenging for any player to play the sport internationally, there are teams of UAE, Canada and even the USA now,” he mentioned. “I often go to the USA, I have a five-year multiple visa for the country. I have played US Open and other tournaments there.

“I have a quite lucrative offer from the US but I didn’t go. I will give my all to play for my country first, but if it does not work out then I will switch to the other avenues.”