Perennial under-performers

The final of the fourth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) is being played between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi today at National Stadium, Karachi. Six teams participated in the fourth edition of PSL with Islamabad United being the defending Champions. The latest edition of PSL proved to be another disappointment for the Lahore Qalandars owner Rana Fawad. Lahore Qalandars, one of the most expensive team of PSL that was sold to a Qatarbased oil company for $2.51 million per annum, failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive time.

Fawad has sought forgiveness from the people of Lahore. He said that the team is tired of losing. “I am really sad after this recent loss. What hopes can I have when the captain is injured, but this time the players will also be held accountable,” he said. Qalandars won only two and lost sixmatches in the first edition. In the second, they slightly improved their performance with three wins in the group stage. In 2018, Lahore secured last position by winning only two matches in eight attempts. In the ongoing league, Lahore only managed three victories from their ten games. Overall, out of 36 matches of the four editions, Qalandars have won only 10 and lost 24. In four leagues, Lahorewon two matches each against Karachi Kings and Islamabad United.

Against Peshawar Zalmi, Qalandars remained successful on one occasion only. Their most wins (three) came against Quetta Gladiators. In all four PSL editions they have finished last. Of all the Twenty20 franchises in the world, they are the worst performing from team. This year, Qalandars appeared with confidence as former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez was appointed as the skipper. They got a massive boost in November when AB de Villiers joined them. But the joy did not last long as captain Hafeez was ruled out of the tournament after just one match due to a finger injury. Later AB de Villiers also flew back home due to a back problem. Veteran batsman Salman Butt replaced injured Hafeez, but he scored only 17 and 5 runs in two matches, against Multan and Quetta, respectively. Stand-in captain Fakhar Zaman failed to use his bowlers according to situation. In four PSL editions, six players have led Lahore Qalandars. In the inaugural edition, Azhar Ali was the captain, but in the last match West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo led the side.

In the second and third editions, Brendon McCullum led the Lahore team. In the fourth edition, they were led by Hafeez, de Villiers and Fakhar. Shoaib Akhtar, who has served as the brand ambassador of Lahore Qalandars, says that the reason behind the Qalandars’ regular defeats is poor drafting and wrong selection. Lahore Qalandars lost matches because their players failed to handle pressure. They selected mostly hitters. There is nobody in the team to consolidate the innings and stay at the crease till the end. Qalandars have a good bowling attack, with Shaheen Afridi, Rahat Ali, Aizaz Cheema, Yasir Shah, Sandeep Lamichhane, Haris Rauf and Corey Anderson. But mostly they failed to hold their nerves, especially in the death overs due to which they failed to defend even high totals. The middle-order has also struggled. It has collapsed regularly. Qalandars have had such stars as Azhar, Brendon, Fakhar, Umar Akmal, Cameron Delport, Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah, Sandeep Lamichhane, and de Villiers but they have failed to deliver as a team.

After the continuous failures, Head Coach and Director Aaqib Javed is facing criticism. He is the man responsible for picking players in drafting and selecting team in the league matches. Before the fourth season, Aaqib was confident that inclusion of de Villiers and Hafeez would improve their performance. But after another early exit, Aaqib said: “You can’t depend on one star player. He can score runs for you, but alone he can’t win games.” Themanagement of Lahore Qalandars have one year to revise their strategy. They should think out of the box and should make drastic changes, not only in the team but also in the coaching staff so that they could performbetter in the next season. khurrams87@yahoo.com