Lahore Qalandar’s catastrophic Pakistan Super League title defence is just one of those things that happens in T20 cricket, but it has come at an inopportune time for their captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, writes Ben Gardner.
It’s Shaheen Shah Afridi who kicks off the death spiral. The Lahore Qalandars captain has promoted himself at the hinge point of a massive chase against table-toppers Multan Sultans. His team have lost five games from five to start the season, a title defence unworthy of the name. Usama Mir has received a pasting in his first over at the hands of Sikandar Raza, and the first of his second is smashed over the ropes by Shaheen as well. Then the left-armer is left swinging through thin air, his down-the-track hoick soundly beaten and the bails whipped off in a flash.
The following content is absurd but perfectly in line with this season’s Zombie March in Lahore Qalandars. In the next over he took 3 wickets and in the next over he took 2 more wickets and his figures of 6 wins and 40 losses in 4 overs took him to the all-or-nothing arena of T20 cricket. But it’s amazing. Lahore Qalandars lost six out of six matches. Even taking into account the Pakistan Super League’s unusually generous format, only two of the six teams will be eliminated in the group stage, all but ending any hopes of a hat-trick of titles. Lahore His four wins, the best his Qalandars could achieve from here, would not have been enough to finish in the top four in 2023.
This is exactly what can happen in franchise contests. If a key player gets injured or falls ill during a critical few weeks, it means the campaign is a failure. Rashid Khan, who took 33 wickets and conceded less than 6.5 runs per over in those two title wins with Lahore Qalandars, has been sidelined this year after undergoing back surgery earlier this winter. Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan, who together took 66 wickets in the last two seasons, underperformed this time. Rauf took two wickets in four matches before being ruled out of the tournament due to a dislocated shoulder. Zaman has taken six wickets so far but lost over 10 runs.
In the batting department, Fakhar Zaman has been the cornerstone of the team so far, but he endured a slump for about six games. He will be world class in 2022, scoring over 80 points with 13 hits, including a century. Although he didn’t reach that best mark last year, his average of 33 runs and strike rate of over 160 still showed his value. He has a high score of 41 this time, scoring just over 1 point per pitch. Rassie van der Dussen and opening goalkeeper Sahibzada Farhan both performed well, but contributions from others were not enough. They are the only two Lahore Qalandars batsmen to have crossed 50 so far. In 2023 he had seven such players, and in 2022 he had six.
Lahore Qalandars also suffered from a one-sided congested schedule with six of the first 14 matches of the tournament played in just 11 days. Somehow, Islamabad United have managed to play half of their matches so far. Losing as well as winning was a habit and with no time to recover, Lahore Qalandars could not shake off the fatigue. “Games end quickly. When the tide goes against you, it feels too difficult to get back on track,” Rassie van der Dussen said after Sunday’s loss to Peshawar Zalmi. Two days later, Lahore Qalandars were eliminated again and lost again.
SHOWSTOPPER SHAHEEN AFRIDI 🦅💫
Unglaublicher Fang、Malik loszuwerden 🙌#HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #LQvKK ビルド。 twitter.com/F6F3NziDpo
– Pakistan Super League (@thePSLt20) 24. February 2024
Despite this, Shaheen maintained his usual level. He has nine wickets, the most for a Lahore Qalandars player, with an average wicket of 22 and an economy rate of just over eight runs per over. Still, it is he who is most likely to end Lahore Qalandars’ winning streak.
As a member of the team management team, he was not innocent. One of the best T20 players of all time, Rashid is an irreplaceable presence in the franchise scene, but Lahore Qalandars have decided not to take on the challenge as they do not have a foreign specialist bowler in their team. As a result, Abdullah Shafiq, a highly rated young player, was left out of the starting eleven. Last season, Shafiq, then 23, scored 144 runs and was ranked second in Lahore Qalandars’ running charts. This season, he was first moved up to No. 4 to accommodate Van der Dussen and then dropped out completely, leaving Lahore Qalandars with a combination of Sikandar Raza, Carlos Brathwaite, Shai Hope and George Linde. In order to accommodate this, the midfield order was changed every game.
Shaheen’s own treatment was also strange. In four of the six matches, he ended his playing time in the 18th round, allowing other players to finish the match. Lahore Qalandar was involved in several close calls, most notably losing his last ball against Karachi Kings. He may argue that the game wouldn’t have been as close had he not stepped up sooner, but he feels like sometimes he could have benefited from using his best pitcher in the toughest of situations. Sometimes it happened. All in all, Lahore Qalandars’ captain Midas touch that has been prominent in the last two seasons has been wrong. Consider his appearance against Multan Sultans. When Shaheen transformed into a bona fide bowling all-rounder last year, there was every chance it would be a masterstroke. This time a complete collapse began.
But these are small things. In fact, what hurts Shaheen more than his role is the timing of Lahore Qalandars’ poor performance. Shaheen was appointed Pakistan T20I captain after Babar Azam withdrew from all formats following the World Cup’s group stage exit, and his entire tenure as manager also includes a five-match series in New Zealand. Even if Pakistan lost his 4-1, it would normally be too early to consider changes. But these are not normal times for Pakistan cricket. In the four months since Shaheen’s appointment, virtually everyone involved in the decision has resigned or been removed from the Pakistan Cricket Board, with team director Mohammad Hafeez recently resigning. Hafeez’s replacement has yet to be named, but whoever is chosen, it is not impossible to get a fresh perspective on who is best suited to lead Pakistan in a T20 World Cup year.
Shahine’s team’s slump has been accompanied by a turnaround for Multan Sultans, who lead the PSL with five wins from six matches. Captain Mohammad Rizwan has had a productive season with the bat, scoring two half-centuries so far, but he has also been active on the field. A collection of highlights of him placating and encouraging the charges went viral online. Respected experts have described him as ‘Pakistan’s best captain’. Ian Bishop described his leadership as “fantastic”. Rizwan has secured his place in Pakistan’s best eleven and is one of the few experienced players yet to take on the captaincy merry-go-round.
While Lahore Qalandars’ successive title wins under Shaheen are commendable, his decline is likely to be his fault. But in a frenetic ecosystem, one failure at the wrong time can spell disaster. While his chance to defend his PSL title may be gone, Shaheen still has a chance to win a few more games.
