Lahore’s performance is now hurting the PSL

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: the Lahore Qalandar’s neon green uniform is hideous. It seems like nobody wants to talk about it at all. And while say the Karachi Kings are not exactly fashion icons in their electric blue and kindergarten red, they also don’t actively look .

But it seems that looking bad is exactly what Lahore was going for when picking out their outfits. Of course, at the end of the day, it ends up being quite poetic that the Qalandars look almost as bad as they’re playing. Perhaps the only thing worse in the tournament than Lahore’s outfit is their cricket. It’s almost as if by the time the team steps out onto the outfield to play, they’re allo so self-conscious of what they’re wearing that they just can’t seem to focus on actually playing cricket.

Maybe that’s why nobody wants to talk about how ugly Lahore’s clothes are. They’re just too busy talking about how bad the team is playing. For sure there must be some fashion critic somewhere just waiting for Lahore to win a game so they can have the room to jump on their silly outfits. But lo and behold, Lahore wants to avoid the topic so bad that they have managed lose five games on the trot, almost guaranteeing their early exit from the tournament.

And that is where a problem perhaps even bigger than the walking lazer light show that is team Qalandars lies. The fact that Lahore is set to become the first to exit the PSL for a third time in a row takes away from the excitement of the early stages of the tournament.

The PSL for the past two years has been working on the format of each team playing two games against each other and the top four qualifying to playoffs and one team being left behind. This first stage was quite predictable for the past two editions, with Lahore definitely being out. The only thing left to play for for the other teams was to be first, second or third – something which bears only very slight significance, and which has not helped Quetta win either of the two finals they have played in.

This year there is a new dimension in the form of a sixth team, The Multan Sultans, who are cruising along at the number two spot on the points table. This means that we will see a team other than Lahore be thrown out in the first stages too, but again, with one spot already almost booked, there will be less drama in the significance of the matches.

For sure the PSL has maintained a surprisingly high quality of cricket, something not easy to manage and often sometimes not reflected in the international team. However, the drama and high tension of individual matches is not done true justice when there is not much to play for.

In short, Lahore is depriving the tournament of the many life-and-death situations it could have had.

Many explanations are now being given for why Lahore is performing as it is. Too many big hitters, ineffective coach, silly buying, and aloof captain – all of which are valid. But what to do if all or none of these are true?

Can and should the PCB intervene for the sake of the quality of the tournament in how a team is made up? That would go against the entire private sponsor concept of franchise sports. But then again, maybe someone can just drop Fawad Rana a hint so he doesn’t have to be so cutely disappointed next time?

Let’s just hope that whoever decides to tell Rana Sb to select a more compatible team doesn’t forget to suggest a change in uniform, so it can be a two birds one stone sort of situation.