JP Duminy says many foreign players would like to return to Pakistan

KARACHI: Jean-Paul Duminy, the South African cricketer who captained Islamabad United in the absence of Misbah-ul-Haq, noted Sunday night that many of the foreign players would like to come to Pakistan again.

Commonly known as JP Duminy, the South Africa T20I team’s vice-captain said he was very happy after the team’s performance in the final game of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) third season.

“I will always remember this victory,” the sportsperson commented, hours ahead of his departure from Karachi, adding that over the past few days, the international guests were well-taken-care-of.

Duminy said he was “proud of the love we received from the Pakistani people”.

He also reiterated what most are saying these days: that this was the first step towards bringing international cricket back to Pakistan.

‘Boys performed well’

Speaking about the stunning faceoff between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi Sunday night, Duminy said it was an “unbelievable” experience despite being “under a lot of pressure”.

“The boys performed well. [And everyone] played well in the whole tournament — be it foreigners or the young Pakistani boys,” he added.

He said although he did not really expect to captain the United, leading the team to victory was “an honour” and “one of my memorable moments” on this trip.

“The fact that the team played well makes me happy,” said Misbah-ul-Haq, who suffered a wrist hairline fracture and, thus, had dropped out of the final few games.

“Captaining Islamabad United was one of my memorable moments,” he said.

Duminy didn’t get NOC but came anyway

The batting all-rounder had decided to visit Pakistan — Lahore and Karachi — for the remaining matches of the PSL despite the Cricket South Africa (CSA) refusing to give him no-objection certificate (NOC), espncricinfo had reported prior to the ‘Eliminator’ matches.

The report had said the South African player was originally denied a NOC by his home board but decided to make a trip on his own by signing an indemnity form with CSA.