Five things we learnt from PSL

The roller coaster ride of the Pakistan Super League is finally over but it’s safe to say all naysayers have been proven wrong with its unexpected success.

Over the past few weeks, the country’s cricket-obsessed population had been glued to their TVs, while even the country’s cricketing gurus learnt a thing or two about the potential of Pakistan cricket and the road map ahead. Here we will have a look at five things we learnt from the inaugural edition of the Pakistan’s first ever T20 league.

1. Umar Akmal isn’t going anywhere anytime soon  

PHOTO COURTESY: PSL FACEBOOK

Before the tournament, some were asking whether Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should look somewhere else, as Umar Akmal just did not make the best out of chances he was presented over the past six years. The twenty-five-year-old — who is yet to feature in the ODI team after the ICC World Cup 2015 quarter-final defeat against Australia — certainly wanted to quash such speculation.

Akmal clearly set himself apart from the others in the tournament. The Lahore-born middle-order batsman was the highest scorer of the tournament with 335 runs at an impressive average of 83.75, despite only playing seven innings in the tournament.

He produced some sublime performances with the bat, and almost single-handedly took his team into the next round of the tournament. In conclusion, Akmal isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and the Pakistan team management will certainly be looking for some inspiring performances from him in the upcoming Asia Cup and World T20.

2. Azhar is not captaincy material. Sarfraz is

PHOTO COURTESY: PSL FACEBOOK

Ever since Azhar Ali was appointed as the captain of the Pakistan team in the ODI format, there was always a sense that his appointment will remain a talking point.

The results under his captaincy, with Pakistan losing three of four series (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand), have certainly not helped his cause.

After the World Cup, there were some who were in favour of wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed’s appointment as captain but the voices faded up until now.

Nearly nine months down the line, Sarfraz’s case is as strong as it ever was. The 28-year-old managed to lead the clear underdogs of the tournament (Quetta Gladiators) to the final of the inaugural PSL tournament.

The Karachi-born player made a clear case for himself as a leader by showing courage, innovation and grit at crucial moments in the tournament.

On the other hand, Azhar’s appointment as the leader of Lahore Qalandars back-fired completely, as they were the only team to miss out on the spot in the playoff.

The 31-year-old once again disappointed on the individual level, lacking innovation in the batting department —  a key area to success in the limited overs game.

On the captaincy level, Azhar made the unforgivable blunder of giving the last over to a left-arm spinner with a wet ball despite having the option of medium-pacer Cameron Delport. The decision cost Lahore a place in the play-off. With results not going Azhar’s way in the past few months, it surely looks like Sarfraz is inching closer to becoming team captain.

3. Pakistan still on the hunt for batsmen, not spinners

PHOTO COURTESY: PSL FACEBOOK

When the PSL kicked off on February 4, the main focus of the league was to find the future stars of Pakistan cricket.

The good news? We found plenty of potential stars in the tournament, including the likes of Peshawar Zalmi’s Mohammad Asghar, Quetta Gladiators Mohammad Nawaz and Islamabad United’s Imran Khalid. The bad news? They were all bowlers, primarily left-arm spinners.

Taking a closer look at the batsmen in the tournament you will find that most have already played for Pakistan at the top level, such as the likes of Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Hafeez.

The only exception was Quetta Gladiators Mohammad Nawaz who managed to infiltrate the top 30 run-getter list in the tournament. Even then he was largely praised for his bowling efforts.

Batting remains Pakistan’s weakest department and there is no dount that fans and selectors were left disappointed with the results. Even Pakistan T20I captain Shahid Afridi was ‘surprised’ to see the dearth of batsmen in the tournament. For now, we can only hope PSL’s next edition addresses this key issue.

4. Age is just a number

PHOTO: AFP

When T20 cricket arrived on the scene, it was said that this format, which is short and requires a lot of energy, would heavily rely on younger blood for success.

But that all went out of the window with Islamabad United — the oldest team in the tournament with an average age of 33 in the final eleven — dominating the league in the later stages and winning the final.

Fun fact: Islamabad United was also the fifth oldest team by age that took the field, all over the world in any league.

Misbah’s men showed that there is no alternative to experience, and even the older players can cement their spots in the shortest format of the game.

Some prime examples: Australia’s duo Brad Haddin and Brad Hodge, Pakistan’s Misbahul Haq and Shahid Afridi, Englan’s Kevin Peterson and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakara.

5. PSL is here to stay

PHOTO COURTESY: PSL FACEBOOK

When the tournament started, there were a lot of doubts over the success of the PSL, as the response for the Master Cricket League (MCL), which started on the same venues just four days before the tournament was pretty disappointing.

However, PSL undoubtedly proved to be a big success, despite being held at a neutral venue, and despite having the leading stars of the game. The tournament attracted big crowds in various games. Sharjah in particular saw sold out crowds, while Dubai also saw two sold out crowds during the first play-off between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators, and then in the final match between Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United.

According to Ramiz Raja, the second match between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars had more viewership than the India-Pakistan clash in the ICC World Cup 2015. PSL was also heavily watched in Pakistan with 55% of the country’s TV-watching public tuning into the tournament at peak times.

The game was played in tremendous spirit throughout the tournament. More importantly, there was no scandal in any of the organisational areas of the tournaments which shows that the authorities worked hard to maintain the credibility of the league.

The article originally appeared on The Express Tribune.

PSL in numbers

A lot of hype surrounded the inaugural edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) and statistics at the end of the group stages show that the league has delivered.

The event had a rather slow starting with matches in Dubai producing scores of below 150 but once the batsmen got used to the slow UAE pitches, finding the sweet spot of the bat became easier.

Lahore Qalandars, who couldn’t advance to the playoffs, were the first to go past the 200-run mark but their opponents Quetta Gladiators put them in the shade by chasing down that mammoth score. Lahore set a 202-run target, which Quetta reached off the last ball to score 203.

On the other end of the run-making scale, Islamabad United were able to successfully defend a target of 131 against Karachi Kings; the lowest to be defended in the tournament. Islamabad hold another stat, albeit a much more unwanted one, as their 117 against Quetta Gladiators was the lowest scoring innings of the tournament.

Lahore also holds the record for the biggest victory in terms of runs when they defeated Quetta by 63 runs. Meanwhile, Afridi’s Peshawar Zalmi holds the record for the biggest win by wickets as they beat Lahore by nine.

A lot of people had said that PSL was a chance for the youngsters to share the dressing room with the veterans and learn the art of pressure-handling and decision making, but one player who found his prime in the tournament was the experienced Umar Akmal. He finished the group stages as the tournament’s highest run-scorer (335), while also boasting its highest individual score (93), best batting average of 83.75 and most sixes (17).

Meanwhile, Kiwi all-rounder, Grant Elliot, had the best bowling average with just 11 runs conceded per wicket for Quetta.

In terms of run scored, Lahore scored the highest (1,215) in their eight matches. Peshawar were second with 1,098, Quetta third with 1,065, Islamabad couldn’t cross the 1000-run mark with 928 runs and Karachi scored the least runs at 819.

Peshawar was the most successful team with the ball as they accounted for 49 batsmen as a whole, Quetta were second with 44 and Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad were third, fourth and fifth respectively with 39, 38 and 34 wickets.

The article originally appeared on The Express Tribune.

PSL 2016: Best performers so far

The inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) enters the play-offs today with the top two teams, Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi, taking on each other to book a spot in the final.

The Express Tribune takes a look at the best performances in batting and bowling during the league matches.

Most runs: Umar Akmal

Pakistan right-handed batsman Umar Akmal was the most in-form batsman during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) group stages, and ended his campaign as its highest run-getter.

But Akmal’s heroics were not enough as Lahore missed out on a place in the play-offs after finishing bottom of the table.

The 25-year-old scored 335 runs in 7 innings, at an average 83.75, and is the only batsman in the tournament to have scored four half-centuries.

Umar Akmal is followed by Karachi Kings’ Ravi Bopara (292) and Peshawar Zalmi’s  Tamim Iqbal (267) in the list of highest run-getters.

Most wickets: Wahab Riaz

Left-arm Pakistan fast-bowler, Wahab Riaz, was the most prolific bowler during the PSL group stages.

Wahab was one of the main bowlers for Shahid Afridi’s Peshawar Zalmi and apart from that little scuffle with Quetta Gladiators’ Ahmed Shehzad, the aggression in his bowling was able to pay him dividend.

His best bowling performance came against Islamabad United when he bagged 3-23 in his four overs. He dismissed Shane Watson, Sam Billings and Andre Russell.

Karachi Kings’ Ravi Bopara is not that far behind Wahab with 11 scalps, while two left-arm spinners — Peshawar Zalmi’s Muhammad Asghar and Quetta Gladiators’ Muhammad Nawaz — are third with 10 wickets each.

Highest individual score: Umar Akmal

Akmal also produced the tournament’s highest individual score in an innings, when he single-handedly destroyed Quetta Gladiators bowling attack and scored 93 off just 40 balls, with the help of six fours and eight sixes.

Due to his blistering innings, Lahore scored 132 runs in the last 10 overs, and also managed to post the third-highest total of the tournament till now.

Gladiators, who were unbeaten till then, did not manage to match the brilliance of the 25-year-old, and eventually suffered their first defeat of the tournament.

The second-highest innings score is from Quetta Gladiator’s Luke Wright (86*), which he scored in the opening match of the tournament, and he is followed by Peshawar Zalmi’s Brad Hodge (85*) against Karachi Kings.

Best bowling figures in an innings: Ravi Bopara

Bopara was Karachi Kings’ best pick during the drafts without a doubt. The all-rounder not only scored with the bat but was also the second-highest wicket taker.

Meanwhile, he had best bowling figures of the tournament when he ripped apart the Lahore Qalandars’ much-vaunted batting attack with 6-16 in his four overs.

Bopara is followed by Peshawar Zalmi captain Shahid Afridi — who took a five-for against Quetta Gladiators — and gave away only seven runs in his four overs. Quetta Gladiators’ left-arm spinner Muhammad Nawaz is third with figures of 4-13 in four overs against Islamabad United.

The article originally appeared on The Express Tribune.

PSL vs IPL: In numbers

Pakistan Super League (PSL) inaugural edition will kick off on February 4 in the UAE, where five teams named after the four provincial capitals; Karachi (Sindh), Lahore (Punjab), Peshawar (KP), Quetta (Balochistan), and one team named after the federal capital Islamabad will take part in a 20-day long tournament.

There is no doubt that the PSL project will take the country’s talent to new heights and can only be described as a win-win for the cricket obsessed nation. However, the obvious comparisons to the most successful cricket league, the Indian Premier League (IPL), can’t be avoided largely due to the intense rivalry between the neighbours.

The Express Tribune took a look at the key differences between the PSL and the IPL, including target audiences, pay scales for cricketers and other interesting aspects.

That’s not it. We also spoke to former cricketer-convert commentator Ramiz Raja and Pakistan T20I captain Shahid Afrid on how the league will hold up in the future.

To start off, the difference in wages is startling but also a given considering it will be the PSL’s first edition and the smaller target audience. The highest paid players in PSL (Shahid Afridi and four other ‘Icon’ players ) will earn $200,000, compared to a whopping $2.5 million being paid as remuneration to IPL’s Virat Kohli.

The duration and matches played in the IPL will also dwarf the PSL events. A total of 24 matches will be played over 20 days in the PSL, while 60 matches will be played over 45 days in the IPL.

T20 leagues around the world are largely inspired by the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and there is good reason for its success: a massive target audience for IPL. We will have to wait to see how many tune in for PSL.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Raja said the PSL-IPL comparison is futile for now. “It’s just a start. We definitely should hope for better things in future,” he said.

“We should not compare PSL with IPL. IPL is a settled tournament, it has a special window from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the whole world gets hooked to it,” he added.

The former opening batsman went on to say that players should expect the pay scale to increase after a few editions of the PSL as sponsors and greater investment will come with time.

“We have to develop  a robust model,”said Ramiz. “The initial target should be to create and then sustain the credibility of the tournament.

“Once we set up the credibility of the tournament, I am sure more brands and sponsors, who are waiting to see what the PSL has in store for them, will come forward and invest. This will eventually increase the flow of money into the league and eventually for the players.”

The 53-year-old said that the draft system of selecting players in the PSL might be replaced by player’s auction in the future. “We should not rule out the possibility of player’s auction in future editions of PSL,” Ramiz concluded.

Meanwhile, Afridi said PSL would only get bigger once the tournament comes back to Pakistan.

“It [PSL] will get bigger as time goes on,” said Afridi while talking The Express Tribune. “Once the tournament is organised in Pakistan, I think everything will get bigger and better.”

The 35-year-old went on to say that PSL will help Pakistan cricket in moving forward, and for now, the focus should be on building the credibility of the tournament.

“PSL will help Pakistan cricket immensely in moving forward. As of now, we should not focus on the amount of money a player will earn from the tournament. Instead, the focus should be on building the credibility of the tournament,” he added.

The article originally appeared on The Express Tribune.