By Ronan Alexander
The Pakistan Super League gets underway on Saturday so here is a look at what team’s have been up to in the off season to see how their sides set up ahead of the new campaign. In this article, it will identify weaknesses teams had last time out, and what they have done to rectify these, showing why players were signed, and if there are some things teams have overlooked heading into the tournament.
Islamabad United
After finishing third in the table and fourth overall having lost out to Peshawar Zalmi in the eliminator, Islamabad will look to improve from that as they go in search of their third PSL title. In 2023 they boasted the best boundary percentage due to their recruitment of high intent boundary hitters, having a squad including Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Asif Ali and Azam Khan to name a few. However, their batting average was the poorest out of all sides in the tournament, which is a common trade off. They’ve signed Jordan Cox who brings some nice flexibility to their batting lineup as he can bat anywhere in the top 6. He’s opened in 11 of his 67 innings over the last 24 months, with 56 innings anywhere between number 3 and 6. Having lost wickets most frequently in the middle overs, Cox could be the player to provide that extra stability during this phase of the game. In 2023 they bowled the fewest percentage of dot balls out of all six sides so have revamped their seam attack with the additions of Naseem Shah, Tymal Mills and Obed McCoy. They also have Naseem Shah’s two younger brothers, Hunain and Ubaid in their ranks with the latter ending the Under 19 World Cup with the joint second most wickets with 18 @ 12.4.
Potential XI:
Karachi Kings
Karachi come into this tournament off the back of two disappointing campaigns where they’ve only won 4 of their last 20 matches. This now gives them the lowest win percentage (39.5%) of all PSL franchises so had their work cut out heading into this year. In 2023, they were the worst team at six hitting, taking them the most deliveries to hit a 6 out of all sides. However, they looked to address this with their recruitment as they added Kieron Pollard and Daniel Sams to their roster. They hit a 6 every 19.9 deliveries last year compared to Islamabad who were the best, clearing the ropes every 12.9 balls. Pollard hits a 6 every 9.6 balls since the beginning of 2022 in franchise cricket, with Sams hits a 6 every 10.1 balls during the same time, making them both smart moves to improve a weak area. They also had the worst boundary percentage against spin. Leus du Plooy was picked up in the supplementary category and he strikes at 131 against spin to help them in this area. Their death bowling was also below par, but the additions of Sams (platinum) and Hasan Ali (diamond) give them options here as last year AJ Tye (ave 68, econ 13.6) and Mohammad Amir (ave 39.5, econ 11.3) struggled during this phase.
Potential XI:
Lahore Qalandars
Last seasons defending champions come into the tournament after boasting the best bowling attack in the 2023 edition. However, they’ll be without the services of Rashid Khan who pulled out of the tournament to continue with his rehab from back surgery. Lahore didn’t go all out with a replacement, and could turn to the services of left arm wrist spinner Syed Faridoun who was picked up in the emerging category and made a solitary appearance for Melbourne Stars in the BBL. Sikandar Raza will be the other spinner in their attack, but not replacing Rashid Khan will put a lot of responsibility on 22-year-old Faridoun. They did average 63 with the ball in the powerplay, but will be hoping for a better return from attack leader Shaheen Shah Afridi in this phase to correct that poor statistic. Qalandars were also the slowest scorers against seam bowling, but the additions of Rassie van der Dussen and Bhanuka Rajapaksa will hope to improve this. The South African has a strike rate of 143.4 against seam over the last two years, whilst Rajapaksa hits at 137.9 against the seamers.
Potential XI:
Multan Sultans
Having lost the final by a solitary run last year, Multan will be aiming to go one better this time round. They were the fastest scorers and had the best batting average last year, making them a top batting unit. They have however lost Rilee Rossouw but replaced him with a fellow left-hander who can bat at number 3 in Dawid Malan. Reeza Hendricks also gives them an opening option to partner skipper Mohammad Rizwan after the departure of the reliable Shan Masood. They will be without Ihsanullah who was the tournaments second top wicket taker with 22, at an average of 15.8 and economy of 7.59 due to an elbow injury. His replacement Reece Topley is also set to be sidelined but they have picked up Olly Stone to fill this void. Their spin attack lacked a bit of potency, with the second worst bowling average, but have added left arm wrist spinner Faisal Akram to their roster from Karachi Kings.
Potential XI:
Peshawar Zalmi
Zalmi were an extremely volatile side last year, being the second fastest run scorers but the most expensive attack as they ended the competition in third place. Their seamers went at over 10 runs per over, but have added Naveen-ul-Haq, Gus Atkinson and the unknown quantity of Shamar Joseph to their ranks. They bowled the least spin in the tournament last year, and when they did use spin, it didn’t exactly go to plan as they had the poorest economy rate and average with spinners out of all six sides. They’ve picked up Noor Ahamd in the platinum category as well as Waqar Salamkhiel to try and improv on this. Their run-rate at the death was also the weakest, but Asif Ali has been added to the squad as a proven finisher, striking at 167 during the death overs.
Potential XI:
Quetta Gladiators
Rooted to the bottom of the table last year, Quetta had their work cut out with recruitment heading into the 2024 campaign. They needed to bolster their batting lineup after being the slowest scorers and poorest boundary hitters in 2023. They also had a lack of LHB/RHB combinations, using left handers fewer than any other side. That’s what they’ve went out and got, adding Rilee Rossouw, Sherfane Rutherford and Laurie Evans to their side. They also lost wickets most regularly in the powerplay, having questionably only selected Will Smeed for 4 matches after his breakout PSL season in 2022. Their spin attack also needed improving, having the second worst economy rate for spin in PSL 2023. However, Wanindu Hasaranga was signed but unable to feature, and it looks like that could be the same this year which is far from ideal. They have added Abrar Ahmed from Islamabad and Usman Qadir from Zalmi to give them some solid domestic options. Meanwhile, West Indian left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein was also picked up in the supplementary category. Having been the worst wicket taking team at the death last year, coupled by the loss of Naseem Shah to Islamabad, they’ve added Mohammad Wasim Jr to their ranks along with Mohammad Amir from Karachi, meaning those two alongside Mohammad Hasnain gives them a nice attack with the left arm option of Amir which they were lacking last time round.
Potential XI:
Stats: Cricmetric & Cricinfo
The potential XI’s likely have injury/availability issues I’m missing, so if you can suggest any changes, please do reply to the tweet.
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