Even though we are into the second edition of the PSL, most of the trends have resumed from the first: Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars continue to lose, Quetta Gladiators continue to win and Islamabad United win some and lose some.
It is still very much the early days for the tournament and it is too soon to predict anything convincingly. The fast-paced, unpredictable T20 format makes it all the more difficult for pundits to go through with their predictions.
Mickey Arthur is the national team’s coach who also happens to be the head coach of Karachi Kings, whereas Azhar Mahmood is the bowling coach for the national team and also happens to be the assistant coach for Karachi Kings. The pair has overseen disastrous results in Pakistan’s two recent series against New Zealand and Australia; it seems they have brought their string of bad luck to PSL as well.
It is interesting to mention that Arthur is not a big fan of international T20s and has advocated in the past to relegate T20s to domestic franchise cricket, thereby giving a boost to the ailing ODI format. After Pakistan’s loss to Australia in the first ODI in Gabba, he said, “50-over cricket’s got a definite role because of the World Cup, because of international rankings there’s context. I do think, though, that Twenty20 cricket should become franchise dominated. I’ve never been a massive advocate of international Twenty20 cricket except a World Cup every two or three years because that gets the best players together.”
Coaching an unpredictable Pakistani team is always challenging and Arthur can be excused for the team’s dismal performance Down Under. However, having the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chris Gayle and Shoaib Malik—who were all former captains for their national teams—should make his job that much easier, not to mention big hitters like Keiron Pollard and Ravi Bopara. On paper, Karachi Kings have a star-studded line-up with players that have played ICC World Cup finals. But that’s the thing about cricket: it is not played on paper. Karachi Kings’ latest defeat against Quetta Gladiators means they have now lost 9 of their 11 PSL matches with their only wins coming against Lahore Qalandars.
Quetta Gladiators, on the other hand, are a team not having superstars in their lineup, relying instead on team performances. Kevin Pietersen is a massive exception to that, of course. However, when he came in yesterday at 23 for 1, he edged the first ball from Sohail Khan to the wicketkeeper. A poor shot first up against the seaming ball left him with three runs in two matches. Other teams might have struggled in the absence of a contribution from such an important player, but Quetta have still managed to win both of their games. When Pietersen backfired, Rilee Rossouw chipped in with a man of the match 76*. This puts on a display that there might be something in their reputation of being a team rather than a collection of individuals. Quetta are the only team to still boast a 100 per cent winning record and sit at the top of the table on four points.
Last season, Lahore Qalandars were so dismal they couldn’t even qualify for the playoffs. So far, they lost a close low-scoring game against Gladiators and yesterday they convincingly dispatched Misbah’s Islamabad United by six wickets. South Africa-born English batsman Jason Roy has been a lynchpin for Qalandars, top-scoring in both of their matches. If Qalandars wish to change their fortunes, Umar Akmal and skipper Brendon McCullum would have to contribute. McCullum had a start in both of his matches, but he couldn’t convert it into meaningful innings.
The format of PSL allows all top four teams a guaranteed place in the playoffs. Just like the last season, Kings and Qalandars might be battling against each other to avoid the ignominy of finishing last.
