The 9th edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League is about to get underway at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium on 17th February. Defending champions, Lahore Qalandars will start their title defense by taking on two-time champions, Islamabad United in the tournament’s opener. All eyes will be on Shaheen Shah Afridi as he gears up his side to win their record-third PSL title in a row. Let’s take a look at the PSL 2024 Lahore Qalandars Preview.
PSL 2024 Lahore Qalandars Preview
The Qalandars have come a long way since the inaugural season of HBL PSL in 2016. Their fans had to endure a torrid time during the early seasons of PSL as their side consistently finished at the bottom of the table.
During that period many big-name players were part of the Qalandars family but even they could not turn the franchise’s fortune around. But their fortunes have taken a dramatic turn since Shaheen Shah Afridi took charge of Lahore Qalandars.
| Year | Played | Won | Lost | Final Position |
| 2016 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 5th |
| 2017 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 5th |
| 2018 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6th |
| 2019 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6th |
| 2020 | 13 | 7 | 6 | Runners-up |
| 2021 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5th |
| 2022 | 13 | 8 | 5 | Champions |
| 2023 | 13 | 9 | 4 | Champions |
The 23-year-old has managed to win back-to-back PSL titles for his side and he would be determined to make it three in a row this time around. Let’s assess how Lahore Qalandars are poised in this year’s PSL title race. Here’s the PSL 2024 Lahore Qalandars Preview.
Strengths
Pace Attack
Once again Lahore Qalandars have certainly got one of the best pace attacks in the PSL this season, spearheaded by their skipper Shaheen Afridi and his counterpart Haris Rauf. Both these players have made a name for themselves in the cricketing world.
But unfortunately, their recent performances for the Pakistan cricket team have not been up to the mark. They have been leaking away too many runs and have not been picking up wickets at the rate at which they used to do in the past.
Nonetheless, they still pose a great threat to the opposition’s batters. Both were instrumental in securing the PSL title for Lahore last season as they picked up 36 wickets together.
They are going to be supported by Zaman Khan. His slingy action caused plenty of problems for the batters last season as he picked up 15 wickets. He will be eager to replicate his performances from last the campaign, especially after breaking into Pakistan’s T20I and ODI squads.
Explosive Batting
The modern-day cricket demands plenty of firepower from the batters. Lahore Qalandars seem to have sorted out this requirement well. Whether it is the opening pair, middle order, or the lower order, they have genuine power hitters throughout their batting lineup.
Up top, they have got the explosive Fakhar Zaman. The 33-year-old has been with the franchise for over seven years now and has played some breathtaking innings during his stay. The left-handed batter has scored 2,368 runs at a strike rate of 142.30 with 2 centuries to his name.
Fakhar is going to be supported by either Mirza Baig or Abdullah Shafique as openers. Both of them are known for playing textbook shots but they are equally capable of playing lofted shots when required. Baig has a strike rate of 129.46 while Abdullah has a strike rate of 130.76 in T20s.
In the middle order, Qalandars were able to secure the services of Rassie van der Dussen. The South African is known for his big-hitting ability and he is going to be a key player for them this season. The 34-year-old has scored over 5000 runs in T20s at a strike rate of 130.11. Although he failed to make an impression with Islamabad United last season, he has played some noteworthy innings in the recently concluded SA20 League.
Lahore’s batting prowess is enhanced further by the likes of David Wiese and Sikandar Raza, lower down the order. Both are explosive hitters and have a wealth of T20 experience under their belt. Wiese has been with the Qalandars family for four years now and has single-handedly won the match for his side on a few occasions. Sikandar Raza has also been among the runs in his short stint with the Qalandars so far.
Element of Surprise
Titles are indeed won by putting in the hard yards in training, but having an element of surprise in your squad can boost your chances of achieving the silverware. And Lahore Qalandars have certainly got a few X-factor players within their squad thanks to their famous Player Development Program (PDP).
Haris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain, Tahir Baig, Ahmed Daniyal, and Salman Irshad all came up from that program. And this season they have added Syed Faridoun, Tayyab Abbas, and Ahsan Batti to their roster from the PDP.
Syed Faridoun was part of the Lahore Qalandars in 2022 but he did not feature in any game for them. But this time around he has a great chance of playing more often due to the absence of Rashid Khan. Afghanistan’s talisman has failed to recover from a back injury and has been ruled out of PSL.
In his absence, the onus will be on Syed Faridoun to lead Lahore’s spin attack. With not much data available about his bowling strengths and weaknesses the mystery spinner could cause some real problems for PSL batters.
Ahsan Bhatti is another man who has made it to the Qalandars squad from their Player Development Program. The wicketkeeper batter is known for his explosive batting and has impressed a lot in the PDP. He was with the Lahore Qalandars last season also but could only manage to score 15 runs in the two innings that he played. If given proper game time this season, he could turn out to be a real game-changer for Lahore in the middle or lower order.
Weaknesses
Shaheen’s Poor Run of Form
It is fair to say Lahore’s success over the last couple of years is due to the marvelous captaincy of Shaheen Afridi. The fast bowler has led his side from the front over the last two seasons. He has not only been magnificent with his bowling, but he has played some very crucial cameos with the bat for his side too, including his famous innings in last year’s final.
Despite having won back-to-back PSL titles, Shaheen’s performance and captaincy will be put under the microscope due to his below-par performances for the Pakistan national team. The 23-year-old has been heavily criticized by the fans due to a drop in his pace and his inability to pick up early wickets in the powerplay.
Furthermore, he didn’t have the best of times in New Zealand where he captained the Pakistan team and lost the series 4-1. Shaheen Afridi’s confidence would be low given what he has gone through over the last four to six months. This could hamper Qalandar’s chances of winning the HBL PSL title this year.
Weak Spin Attack
Lahore Qalandars were dealt a massive blow after Rashid Khan was ruled out of PSL due to a back injury. The leg spinner has picked up 44 wickets in three seasons for the Qalandars and was instrumental in securing the title for his franchise in each of the previous two years.
Unfortunately, it seems like the Qalandars have not done enough to find a suitable replacement for their star player. Sikandar Raza and Syed Faridoun are the only two recognized spinners in the current squad, along with Kamran Ghulam who can bowl a bit off-spin.
Raza is an experienced campaigner who has bowled in various franchise leagues all over the world. Although Syed Faridoun did play a solitary game for Melbourne Stars in 2021, other than that he does not has much international experience. This inexperienced spin attack could cause a lot of problems for the Qalandars as the tournament moves on.
Lahore Qalandars have certainly got the pedigree to secure a hat-trick of PSL titles. But for that, they will have to bring their A-game to the forefront. Shaheen and Rauf desperately need to up their performances and return to their best. They have to lift pressure off their inexperienced spin attack if they want to lift the PSL title once again.
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