‘Strong drive, good captains, experienced coaches’ – Coach Andy Flower reveals Multan Sultans’ success secret

Andy Flower head coach of England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Former Zimbabwe captain and current Multan Sultans head coach Andy Flower has opened up on the franchise’s performance in the ongoing Pakistan Super League 2023 (PSL).

The Sultans have been the most successful PSL franchise of all time. They finished on the top-two position in the points table for three consecutive seasons and have clinched the PSL title back in 2021. Even in the ongoing edition, the Multan Sultans are currently placed in the second position, with eight points from seven matches.

“I wish we had been invincible. We’ve had a lot of good results. We played some really strong cricket and we’re all really proud of that. I think some of the factors that go into it are, number one, the strong drive and support from the top – from the owner, Alamgir Tareen, [who] is very keen on us to challenging convention and using the information as wisely as possible,” the 54-year-old said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“Very importantly, we’ve had two very good captains who have been very successful for us – Shan Masood and Mohammad Rizwan. I think some of our coaching leadership has definitely helped, especially our Pakistani coaches, Abdul Rehman and Mushtaq Ahmed, are both very experienced coaches in their own right,” he added.

Masood and Rizwan have formed a powerful partnership: Andy Flower

The former cricketer believes that the reason behind Sultans’ success is the mutual understanding and bonding between the players and the management. He stated that while the players concentrated on playing quality cricket, the management ensured that quality strategies are made and the players are backed.

He also made a special mention for Shan Masood and skipper Mohammad Rizwan, adding that he is impressed seeing Masood develop his T20 game brilliantly. Flower also added that his partnership with Rizwan has been fantastic.

“He’s (Shan Masood) definitely the real deal and is in the strongest condition I’ve seen [him in] in T20 cricket this year. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have a very strong finish to this competition,” said Flower.

“He and Rizwan have formed a very consistent and powerful partnership, and they give us great foundations from which to work. I’d like them both to still develop their partnership whereby one dominates the bowling and really puts the bowling under pressure when the other one is struggling a little,” he added.

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