Tag: Karachi Kings

  • Imad Wasim wishes Babar ‘good luck’ for PSL 7 as Karachi Kings’ captain

    Imad Wasim wishes Babar ‘good luck’ for PSL 7 as Karachi Kings’ captain

    Pakistani cricketer and former captain of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings, Imad Wasim, has extended his good wishes to the newly appointed captain of the franchise, Babar Azam, for the upcoming seventh edition.

    Taking to Twitter, Imad thanked Salman Iqbal, saying: “I want to take a minute to thank @Salman_ary bhai and the whole @KarachiKingsARY family for entrusting me with the captaincy for 4 seasons! It’s been wonderful n I look forward to even bigger things for the team in the future.”

    Wishing well to the the all-format skipper Babar, he said: “Gudluck and best wishes to my brother @babarazam258.”

    Cricketer Umar Akmal also congratulated his cousin.

    The Kings, under the leadership of Imad Wasim, clinched their first PSL title in 2020.

    The seventh edition of PSL will be held in January and February 2022 with all matches taking place in Pakistan.

    Both Lahore and Karachi will host 17 matches each, with the finals to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

  • Babar Azam named captain of Karachi Kings for PSL 7

    Babar Azam named captain of Karachi Kings for PSL 7

    The all-format captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, will lead Karachi Kings in the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is starting in January next year.

    Read More – 2020 Sports Roundup – Some losses, some gains

    The franchise confirmed the long-rumoured development on its official Twitter account on Tuesday.

    “Big announcement for Karachi Kings fans! Our national team skipper, the one and only Babar Azam, will now be the captain of Karachi Kings as well!”

    “This is such an honour for me that the whole team management, including Imad Bhai, has entrusted me with the captaincy of our beloved Karachi Kings team. This means the world to me,” Babar said in a video message attached with the tweet.

    “I have been playing for the Karachi Kings for the last five years, and this is like my home and family away from home.

    “I will work as hard as possible to take the team to even greater heights than what we’ve already achieved so far. My promise is that I will give it my all to make sure we keep on growing towards bigger and better things,” Azam said.

    The players’ draft for the seventh edition of the PSL is due for the second week of December while the tournament is likely to start in late January. Karachi and Lahore are expected to host 17 matches each with the playoffs and the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

    Earlier, under the leadership of all-round spinner Imad Wasim, the Kings won their first title, playing against their arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars in 2020.

  • What went wrong for Lahore Qalandars?

    What went wrong for Lahore Qalandars?

    Positioned at top of the points table after five wins in six matches, Lahore Qalandars seemed strong frontrunners to clinch the elusive PSL trophy. At one stage, it even appeared that the sixth time might finally be the charm for them. Even Aqib Javed, Qalandars’ head coach, went a step further and billed Qalandars as the favourites to win the tournament in an interview with Cricket Pakistan.

    Much to the chagrin of their fans, Qalandars squandered the impressive start and it all went downhill for them from there onwards. In the next four matches, they suffered four losses, which saw them getting stormed out of the playoffs for the fifth time in six editions.

    This column attempts to shed light on and assess what went wrong for Qalandars this time around

    1. Misfiring top order

    Irrespective of whether a team is batting first or second, the top order holds the onus to provide a solid foundation. While Qalandars’ top 3 batsmen fared decently during the home games, they could not get going in the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament. Before the tournament had to be moved from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi, Qalandars had played four games where their top 3 batsmen scored a total of 356 runs averaging 89 runs per game. In the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament, Qalandars’ top 3 could muster a meager 289 across six innings averaging just over 48 runs per game.

    2. Decisions at the toss

    It cannot be denied that toss plays a crucial role in the outcome of a match. In the Pakistan leg of the tournament, Qalandars registered three wins in four games with all of the wins coming when Qalandars opted to bowl first after winning the toss. In the match against Multan Sultans where they batted first, they ended up losing by seven wickets, which indicates that chasing is not their strong suit. However, with the change in conditions from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi, Qalandars’ batsmen found even chasing par scores an uphill task. In the three consecutive losses against Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators, and Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars batted second. Inexplicably, in their last league game against Multan Sultans where a win would have ensured Qalandars a spot in the playoffs, skipper Sohail Akhtar opted to chase again. The move backfired again as Qalandars were bundled out for 89 in reply to Sultan’s 169.

    3. Shoddy death bowling

    While Shaheen and Faulkner regularly provided good starts with the new ball, Qalandar’s death bowling was not up to the mark in the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament. In overs 16-20 in losses against Islamabad, Quetta, Karachi, and Multan, Qalandars conceded 36 (9 runs per over), 38 (9.5 runs per over), 44 (11 runs per over), and 38 (9.5 runs per over) respectively. While it is their batting that is the main headache, Qalandars need to make sure that their bowlers continue their good impact from the powerplay and middle overs into the death overs heading into the next edition. Every cloud goes the saying, has a silver lining. Similarly, despite not being able to advance into the playoffs, Qalandars can take some positives particularly from the individual performances of the quartet of Rashid Khan, Tim David, James Faulkner, and Shaheen Afridi who gave a good account of themselves. Not being able to make it into the playoffs for five times in six editions despite having eminent T20 players in the ranks cries out for sweeping changes on multiple fronts and Qalandars need to ensure that they make these sweeping changes in their system before the seventh edition kicks off if they want the seventh time to be a charm for them.

  • Wasim Akram is losing his mind as he quarantines for PSL6

    Wasim Akram is losing his mind as he quarantines for PSL6

    The sixth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is ready to resume in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Abu Dhabi shall host the 20 matches at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium from the first week of June. For that all teams and their staff have to go through a week’s isolation to maintain COVID-19 protocols for the tournament. Karachi Kings’ president and former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram is losing his mind in isolation as he is also quarantined for the same.

    “Third day in isolation, seen everything on Netflix, Prime, cable TV and now I think I am about to lose my sh_t,” wrote Akram on Twitter.

    “Suggestions are welcome,” he added.

    Replying to his tweet, Kings’ owner Salman Iqbal said: “Seven more days to go bro! I have some suggestions , will send you a WhatsApp.”

    Fahad Mustafa then dived in and replied to Salman, saying: “I also have some suggestions Salman bhai. Have to share with you before you leave.”

    Akram then replied to Fahad and said: “Salman is not even going into the bubble so don’t waste your ideas on him but I am all ears though.”

    “Third day [and] losing it already, said Wasim being bored-to-tears.

    According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), around 168 people will travel from Lahore on a chartered flight while 65 will leave for Abu Dhabi from Karachi. All the cricketers and coaching staff available in Pakistan for the league have been in quarantine at a local hotel since Monday where the second test of COVID-19 was conducted on Tuesday and their reports will come out before the planes depart for Abu Dhabi.

  • Andre Russell, Martin Guptill among lead names joining PSL6 in June

    Andre Russell, Martin Guptill among lead names joining PSL6 in June

    Andre Russell and Martin Guptill are leading the names among others signed by Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises for the competition’s resumption in June.

    In an online session held last evening, franchise representatives submitted names of the players they picked as replacements of those unavailable to feature in the upcoming matches.

    West Indies allrounder Russell will join Quetta Gladiators in the absence of England international batsman Tom Banton. New Zealand’s Martin Guptill has been picked by Karachi Kings, while Bangladesh allrounder Shakib al Hasan was selected by Lahore Qalandars. Australia’s Usman Khawaja was Islamabad’s pick to replace Alex Hales. Another fascinating pick by IU is South African player Janneman Malan.

    According to details, a total of 19 overseas players were chosen in the replacement draft, with three teams – Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta and Islamabad United reserving one further selection each, to be used at a later date.

    Most of the overseas players, who were around for the first set of games before the postponement, are missing for one reason or another. The English players are going to be busy with the Vitality Blast T20 tournament. Some others are on national duty. As a result, there was a mini draft, where the teams had to pick from 134 players, from Australia (10), New Zealand (12), South Africa (18), Bangladesh (7), West Indies (25), Sri Lanka (24), Zimbabwe (6), Afghanistan (16), Ireland (5), UAE (5), Scotland (4), Nepal (1) and Oman (1)

    https://twitter.com/HBLPSL6Official/status/1387315812059525121?s=19

    The PSL 6 was postponed after 14 matches on March 4 this year after a Covid-19 outbreak was reported in the tournament’s bio-secure bubble. The remaining 20 matches of the sixth edition will now be played at Karachi’s National Stadium from June 1-20.

    Read more – PCB books 300-room hotel in Karachi for PSL6

    FULL LIST OF PSL 2021 REPLACEMENT DRAFT PICKS

    Islamabad United: Usman Khawaja replaces Alex Hales, Janneman Malan replaces Lewis Gregory

    Karachi Kings: Martin Guptill replaces Colin Ingram, Thisara Perera replaces Mohammad Nabi, Najeebullah Zadran replaces Dan Christian, Litton Das replaces Joe Clarke

    Lahore Qalandars: Shakib al Hasan replaces Rashid Khan, James Faulkner replaces David Wiese, Joe Burns replaces Samit Patel, Callum Ferguson replaces Tom Abell, Seekkuge Prasana replaces Joe Denly

    Multan Sultans: Mahmudullah replaces Chris Lynn, Rahmanullah Gurbaz replaces James Vince, George Linde replaces Adam Lyth, Obed McCoy replaces Carlos Brathwaite

    Peshawar Zalmi: Fabian Allen replaces Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rovman Powell replaces Liam Livingstone, Fidel Edwards replaces Saqib Mahmood

    Quetta Gladiators: Andre Russell replaces Tom Banton

    Meanwhile, Malan found out what ‘Janneman’ means in Urdu – sweetheart – and he aspires to become a janneman to all Pakistanis with his performances.

    “Excited to join Islamabad United. Heard so many great things about the franchise,” said Malan. “I just found out what Janneman means in Urdu. I wish to be janneman to all Pakistanis with my performances in the PSL.”

    Usman Khawaja, who was born in Pakistan, also expressed his excitement, saying: “Pretty excited to be joining Islamabad United. I have played everywhere in the subcontinent except where I was actually born. So for me, this means a little bit more.”

    “Can’t wait,” he added.

    Commenting under his tweet, England player Sam Billings encouraged the cricketer, saying: “Great franchise, go well brother.”

  • Lahore beat Karachi at home ground

    Lahore beat Karachi at home ground

    Lahore Qalandars beat Karachi Kings at the 11th match of Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) sixth edition on Sunday in National Stadium Karachi.

    Kings’ Sharjeel Khan (64 off 39 balls) and Mohammad Nabi (57 off 35 balls) were able to steer the side to the handsome total, after an early fall of wickets in powerplay.

    However, the Qalandars lost two early wickets but Fakhar Zaman took the charge to sail the boat of the side to victory with his unbeaten 83 runs off 54 balls. Ben Dunk also scored a much need half century, scoring 57 off 43 balls.

    Fakhar got dismissed by Daniel Christian which ended in a blessing in disguise and David Wiese blasted 31 runs off just 9 balls to guide his team to victory.

    Kings were pretty confident as a day before they achieved a remarkable win over Multan Sultans when they convincingly chased 198 with seven balls to spare and ended up with high confidence.

    The Qalandars’ performance, today, however, showed that in the battle of the nerves, they can easily whip any opponent, beating Kings by six wickets.

    In total, the two arch-rivals have played 12 matches, of which Karachi Kings bagged seven and Lahore Qalandars secured five, including this match.

    Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi secured man of the match award, taking three wickets by giving only 27 runs in four overs.

  • Gwadar stadium to host cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings

    Gwadar stadium to host cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings

    Gwadar Cricket Stadium is all set to host a cricket match between Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise teams Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings on March 25, Fakhr-e-Alam announced on Monday.

    The TV host-singer shared the news in a video posted on his official Twitter account. “I want to break the news that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially informed the Government of Balochistan that it wants to organize a match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings on March 25, right after PSL ends,” Alam said in the video.

    “Congratulations to everyone who wanted this to happen. There can’t be better news for cricket fans, for me and for people of Balochistan.”

    The 45-year-old added that initially he wanted an official PSL 2021 match to be played at the venue but because the stadium doesn’t meet the standards set by International Cricket Council (ICC) and PCB, it was difficult to arrange the fixture.

    Alam was grateful to PCB and the owners of the two franchises for their support and willingness in playing a match at Gwadar Stadium, which was in the headlines recently for its striking beauty.

    “I want to thank PCB: Wasim Khan, thank you very much,” he said. “Both the franchises – Nadeem Omar and Salman Iqbal, thank you guys for doing this,” the host added.

    Earlier on Friday, the stadium held its first exhibition match between Gwadar Dolphins and Showbiz Sharks on Friday as a tribute to late mountaineer Ali Sadpara.

    Alam also showed his confidence in the provincial government saying Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal is a “very dynamic and progressive” man and that he’ll successfully arrange the match.

    Later, when a sports journalist, Ihtisham Ul Haq, tweeted about the news that Karachi will play against Quetta on March 25 in the Gwadar Stadium, KK owner Salman Iqbal confirmed the news and said, “Insha Allah.”

    Meanwhile, CM Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan shared Fakhar’s video on Twitter and said: “Inshallah this shall be fully facilitated.”

    “Its Mashallah good to see Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings to play in Gwader. This shall be good for Balochistan cricket, youth and Gwader….And, for Cricket in Pakistan,” he added.

  • PSL ka groove

    PSL ka groove

    Pakistan Super League (PSL) is back with its sixth season, which promises to be another exciting one. From February 20 to March 22, Karachi and Lahore will be hosting the latest edition of PSL 2021. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed 20 per cent audience to attend the PSL matches. The opening ceremony of PSL was a star-studded event, which was reportedly recorded in Turkey. Naseebo Lal and Atif Aslam performed along with rapper Imran Khan and Humaima Malik as well as Aima Baig and Young Stunners.

    Yesterday’s match at the Karachi’s National Stadium between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings was quite one-sided given Gladiator’s performance. Karachi Kings’ bowling restricted them to just 121 runs and the Kings had an easy win.

    Lahore Qalandars have defeated Peshawar Zalmi with four wickets in hand. Two-time champions Islamabad United will play Multan Sultans later this evening. The viewership last year was around 120 million worldwide. This is no small feat given how big and established other cricketing leagues are, like the Indian Premier League (IPL), Big Bash, CPL, etc. The first four seasons of PSL took place mostly in the UAE given the security situation at home and the reluctance of foreign players to play in Pakistan. It is good to see that given the security arrangements made in the last few years, foreign players’ confidence has been restored.

    Credit must be given to former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi for making PSL materialise in the first place. Sethi’s efforts led to the league taking off in such a big way. The new management has done well to continue the tradition with zeal. All the teams look super fine on paper and we will surely get to see some remarkable performances in the 34-match extravaganza. Some amazing talent has come out and also been groomed due to playing in the PSL. May the best team clinch the cup!

  • South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs appointed Karachi Kings’ new head coach

    South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs appointed Karachi Kings’ new head coach

    Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings has appointed Herschelle Gibbs as the new head coach for the 2021 edition.

    The former South Africa opening batsman Gibbs has replaced Dean Jones who passed away earlier this year due to cardiac arrest.

    Gibbs is famous for his explosive batting performances in the past for the Proteas across all formats.

    Announcing the news on social media, Gibbs wrote: “Hot out the gate this year! Excited much to work with the Karachi Kings.”

    46-year-old Gibbs has represented South Africa in 90 Tests, 248 ODIs and 23 T20Is where he collectively managed to score 14,661 runs, which included 35 centuries and 66 half-centuries.

    Meanwhile, Kings emerged the winners of the fifth edition of the PSL after beating arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars in the final.

    The player draft for the sixth edition of the PSL is expected to take place in Lahore on January 9 and the tournament is set to begin from February 20. It is likely to be played in Karachi and Lahore only due to coronavirus pandemic. It has also been reported that spectators will not be allowed in the stadiums due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

  • Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa, Asim Azhar celebrate Karachi Kings’ first PSL win

    Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa, Asim Azhar celebrate Karachi Kings’ first PSL win

    Karachi Kings’ on Tuesday night were crowned the winners of the fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after beating Lahore Qalandars by five wickets. Babar Azam knocked a commanding half-century to help his side win their first championship in five years at Karachi National Stadium.

    Though Azam smashed seven boundaries in his 49-ball 63, it was skipper and KK captain Imad Wasim who hit the winning boundary to help the Kings overhaul a modest 135-run target in 18.4 overs.

    The final — one of the most anticipated in PSL’s history, given the rivalry between the country’s two biggest cities — was played after a gap of nearly eight months after the PSL’s fifth edition came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    The Kings will take home a glittering trophy plus a half a million dollars while Lahore will receive $200,000.

    Following the win, celebrities including Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Asim Azhar and Mehwish Hayat celebrated Kings’ win and expressed their excitement on social media. Many also remembered the franchise’s head coach Dean Jones, who passed away in September in India.

    “Mubarak ho Karachi walo!,” said Humayun Saeed. “It has indeed been a long wait but totally worth it. Wish Jones was also with us tonight.”

    Mehwish Hayat said that the win was a “fitting tribute to their late coach, Dean Jones. He would really have been proud today.”

    Asim Azhar celebrated by singing the Kings’ anthem ‘Ye Hai Karachi‘ and jumping in joy.

    “Maza aagaya,” exclaimed Faysal Quraishi and Fahad Mustafa.

    Adnan Siddiqui and Fahad were all praises for the Man of the Match Babar Azam, lavishing praises on him.

    Shaniera Akram, whose husband Wasim Akram also coached the team, expressed that she felt “bittersweet,” adding that this win was for Jones.

    Vasay Chaudhry couldn’t help but crack a joke over how Karachi needed a “Lahoria to get them through”.

    Maya Ali said that the match was a “thriller”.

    Meanwhile, Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara, who captained Karachi Kings in 2017, also congratulated the team for “a wonderful win”.