Pakistan Super League 8 concluded in a dramatic fasion as Lahore Qalandars became the first side to successfully defend their title after edging out Multan Sultans by just one run.

From Ihsanullah’s fiery pace to Mohammad Rizwan’s consistency at the top, we have seen some brilliant individual performances from the players who lit up the big stage. But there were some players from whom expectations were quite high but they failed to turn up.

Let’s have a look at our PSL 8 flop XI of the tournament:

Green Team’s PSL 8 Flop XI

Sharjeel Khan (Matches: 04, Runs: 42, SR: 110, Avg: 10.5, HS: 34)

After the departure of Babar Azam, Karachi Kings expected Sharjeel to provide them with the fireworks at the top during the fielding restrictions. But the dynamite left-hander just failed to make any kind of impact throughout the dismal campaign of Karachi who finished at the bottom of the group stage. He could only score a mere 42 runs and was dropped from the team.

Mathew Wade (Matches: 09, Runs: 224, SR: 121.08, Avg: 28, HS: 53)

Karachi drafted the explosive Aussie in the draft as their Platinum player. While he did end up scoring more than 200 runs but only at a strike rate of 121.08. The impact of his performances wasn’t up to his own standards, his sluggish innings of 15 runs from 19 balls cost Karachi the game which they ended up falling short by only 06 runs. With just one fifty across 09 matches, the Kings had hope for much better performances from him.

Haider Ali (Matches: 06, Runs: 109, SR: 112.37, Avg: 18.16, HS: 59)

Once regarded as the future star of Pakistan’s batting lineup, the young player who lit up the ICC U19 World Cup 2020 with beautiful cover drives has fallen from the heights. Karachi traded Babar Azam with Haider Ali (Platinum) & Shoaib Malik. But his dismal run at the top meant that he was dropped from the playing XI with a mere 109 runs from six games at the SR of 112.37.

Shoaib Malik (Matches: 09, Runs: 200, SR: 127.38, Avg: 28.57, HS: 71*)

A veteran of 510 T20 games with over 12000 runs, Shoaib Malik has been performing consistently throughout the seasons of PSL. He is only the 3rd batter to reach +2000 PSL runs. His last three PSL seasons yielded 401, 278, and 266 runs. This year’s trade to his former franchise didn’t work out in his favor as he failed to score big or make an impact. His only major contribution was 71* runs in a losing cause against Gladiators.

Sarfraz Ahmed – C & WK (Matches: 08, Runs: 162, SR: 104.51, Avg: 27, HS: 41)

For the eighth consecutive PSL season, Sarfraz led Quetta Gladiators, the only player to do so. His title-winning campaign in PSL 2019 seems distant now as they failed to make the playoffs for the fourth season in a row. Where he has turned around his fortunes in Test cricket, he failed to make any kind of an impact with the bat in T20s. He could only score a mere 162 runs at a below-par strike rate of 104.51 from eight games as Quetta crashed out winning only 03 out of seven games.

Also read: Virat and Babar might play in the same team in June 2023 Afro-Asia Cup

Khushdil Shah (Matches: 11, Runs: 72, SR: 135.84, Avg: 14.40, HS: 25)

Khushdil Shah featured regularly for Pakistan’s limited overs side throughout 2021 & 2022. His 2020 campaign with Multan Sultans earned him the title of someone who could finish the games. After being dropped from Pakistan’s side, Khushdil had the perfect opportunity to reclaim his stake in the national team but he failed miserably. His 72 runs across 11 games came at a SR of 135.84 with an average of just 14.40. He had the perfect chance to win PSL 8 for Multan in the final over but he fell short with a cameo of 25 runs from 12 balls.

Mohammad Nawaz (Matches: 10, Runs: 109, SR: 101.86, Avg: 12.11, HS: 52, Wkts: 09, Econ: 9.23)

The match winner of Pakistan had a disappointing campaign with both bat and ball. With only 09 wickets at an economy of 9.23 and just 109 runs from 10 games doesn’t stake his claim as an allrounder in the national side with Imad Wasim performing so well.

Asif Ali (Matches: 09, Runs: 114, SR: 148.05, Avg: 19, HS: 42)

Once regarded as one of the best finishers in Pakistan, Asif Ali just continues to fail to live up to his expectations. With another poor PSL season, he could only score 114 runs with six single-digit scores across nine games averaging just 19.

Odean Smith (Matches: 06, Runs: 50, SR: 125, Avg: 16.66, HS: 25, Wkts: 05, Econ: 10.34)

The big West Indies allrounder was drafted by Quetta Gladiators in the Diamond category in PSL 8 draft. But his performances were nowhere near the standard. In six matches he played he conceded runs at an economy of 10.34 with only 5 wickets & could only score 50 runs throughout the campaign.

Wahab Riaz (Matches: 11, Wkts: 10, Avg: 37, Econ: 9.25)

The 37-year-old, left-arm fast Wahab Riaz who is currently the highest wicket taker in PSL’s history had a horrible time in this year’s PSL. Probably in his last PSL stint, he was consistently bashed for runs & was often found over-stepping at the crucial moments. With just 10 wickets in 11 games at an economy of 9.25 this hasn’t been Wahab’s year, to say the least.

Andrew Tye (Matches: 04, Wkts: 01, Avg: 160, Econ: 10.66)

The Aussie fast bowler joined Karachi Kings for his first-ever PSL stint. The knuckleball specialist had a poor PSL campaign. With just one wicket to show for in four games while going at an economy of 10.66. The death over specialist failed miserably.

Imran Tahir (Matches: 05, Wkts: 03, Avg: 51.66, Econ: 7.75) 12th Player

The 43-year-old Imran Tahir was Karachi’s Platinum category pick this year. His performances with Multan last year (16 wickets from 12 games) where they reached the final were highly valued. This time around he didn’t get the rhythm going as he could only pick three wickets from five games he played in.

Other notable omissions are Ben Cutting, Hussain Talat & Kamran Ghulam.

The Following franchises contain PSL 8 flop XI players:

• Karachi Kings – 06
• Quetta Gladiators – 03
• Multan Sultans – 01
• Islamabad United – 01
• Peshawar Zalmi – 01

The Perfect PSL 8 XI: The Stars Who Stole the Show!