Written by: Mustafa-ur-Rehman
Posted on: February 17, 2022 | 
Captains of all the teams of HPL PSL 2021
As the HBL Pakistan Super League rages on, we take a moment to look back at what the seventh edition has shaped out to be so far, and where it might possibly be headed. The seventh edition of Pakistan's marquee cricketing event of the calendar year has lived up to its billing so far in terms of the quality of cricket.
Featuring six franchises, namely Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans, the tournament is being played across two legs. The first leg started on the 27th of January and continued till the 7th of Feb, 2022, at the National Stadium Karachi. The second leg of the cricket fest moved to Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, starting from the 10th of Jan, with the final of the tournament scheduled on the 27th of February.
Team Multan Sultans
The defending champions, Multan Sultans, lead the tournament convincingly, with 7 wins out of its first 8 matches. With a team built on data-driven decision-making, and with a brilliant mix of experienced players and young blood, Multan Sultans appears to be the benchmark team at this year's PSL. A mix of international superstars such as Tim David and Imran Tahir, as well as local talents such as Shahnawaz Dahani, the breakout star of the previous edition, big-hitting all-rounder Khushdil Shah and wicketkeeper-captain Muhammad Rizwan, Multan Sultans will be looking to go all the way. An intriguing revelation for Sultans this season has been Khushdil's bowling, who has taken 12 wickets so far in this tournament in seven games. Before the HBL PSL-7 began, he had a total of 8 T20 wickets in 90 games.
Lahore Qalandars
Lahore Qalandars, the team which was knocked out in the first stage of PSL in five editions out of the total six, have experienced something of a resurgence, especially in the second leg of the tournament in front of their home crowd. Pace spearhead and captain Shaheen Afridi leads the team, alongside a brilliant bowling attack featuring fellow pacer Harris Rauf and global superstar Rashid Khan. Qalanders' batting looks fragile, but the opening batter Fakhar Zaman has singlehandedly salvaged them in almost all the matches. There has been no looking back for the Mardan-born southpaw, since he had thrashed Australia's Mitchel Starc over long-on and long-off for two sixes in an over in the semi-final of last year's T20 WC. Fakhar, the highest run-getter of the tournament, has racked up 469 runs in 7 matches at a scintillating strike rate of over 165.
Karachi Kings
Karachi Kings' performance in this year's PSL has been disappointing, to say the least. The national cricket team captain Babar Azam leads the franchise, who has been unable to win a single game for his team despite a few big scores under his belt. Despite having a strong core featuring Chris Jordan and Aamer Yamin, the Kings have also looked bleak in the bowling department, and have continued to fold like a pack of cards. Karachi Kings, the first and only team to get knocked out of the tournament so far, has lost eight consecutive games. A couple of injuries and the poor form of some key players led the team combination to falter, which eventually led to their abysmal run in this year's PSL.
Quetta Gladiators
Quetta Gladiators, after a jittery start, have steadied the ship since England's Jason Roy has joined them. The fiery English opener ensured that the 2019 champions chase down 200 runs in two successive games, as they look to improve their game even further as we approach the business end of the tournament. Gladiators also had at their disposal the services of veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who had to withdraw from the tournament midway due to a back injury. Alongside Sarfraz, Naseem Shah and Will Smeed have stepped up for Gladiators in this season of PSL.
Peshawar Zalmi
Peshawar Zalmi has only managed to produce a mixed bag of results, and is yet to hit its stride at this year's PSL. Despite plenty of experience, including captain and lead pacer Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and others, Peshawar Zalmi is yet to stamp its authority. However, the favorite team of the fans, will be looking to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament. The 40-years old Shoaib Malik has been piling up runs continuously for the Peshawar Zalmi this season, who is third in the list of highest run-getters with 276 runs.
Islamabad United
Islamabad United, the most successful franchise in PSL history, will be looking to live up to their expectations under the leadership of young all-rounder Shadab Khan. Shadab Khan, the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets in 6 innings, has been in a scintillating form with both ball and the bat, as he hopes to capitalize on his excellent form and take Islamabad United all the way. Islamabad United did reasonably well so far, but lost a couple of games by a close margin, which would haunt them in the latter stages of the tournament. With their main foreign players pulling out of the event due to national duties and other reasons, United's woes are going to increase in the coming days.
Multan's captain Muhammad Rizwan playing a shot against Lahore Qalandars
The PSL 2021 has proved to be the flag-bearer of Pakistan cricket and has managed to carve out an identity of its own in the world of cricket. With many international stars and the hype that it attracted from around the world, it is destined to increase with each passing day, which is a good omen for Pakistan cricket. Moreover, it paved the way for the resurgence of international cricket at home as Australia is scheduled to visit Pakistan next month, the first tour of Aussies in 24 years. Another consistent output of PSL has been that of the breakout success stories, which continues this year as well. Lahore Qalanders' fast bowler Zaman Khan, Peshawar Zalmi's opener Muhammad Harris, Karachi Kings' allrounder Qasim Akram are the players to emerge from this year's PSL.
Harris Rauf bowls as Shan Masood can be seen at the non-striker's end
To guess who will lift this year's trophy remains a difficult task, but the defending champions, Multan Sultans, appear to be the hot favorites. Only time will tell which team lifts the seventh edition of the PSL on the 27th of February at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
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