- PSL Promoting Youngsters – An Exaggerated Truth? - March 15, 2023
- Over 50s World Cup – Pakistan Team is all set to challenge! - March 6, 2023
- Bold or Rigid – A critical check on Babar Azam’s captaincy - December 26, 2022
Karachi Kings have begun with their PSL 7 campaign in a rather abysmal fashion. With 3 consecutive defeats, survival looks compelling. A gap between the king’s side and other franchises is evident which has ultimately led to the failure.
Batting out of sorts, Bowling inexperienced, and Options inadequate. Numerous challenges seem to clog the progress of former champions in season 7 of PSL. Some of the prime factors that have pegged back the Kings from making an impact in the tournament so far include their weak middle-order, scarcity of firepower in the bowling lineup and lack of emerging cricketers.
Reasons for Karachi King’s early failures
Out of Form Batting Unit
Although Kings are surrounded by several problems, but paltry scores of 123 and 113 in their first two games give a clear indication of their biggest headache, which has been substandard batting.
With all other teams consistently piling huge sums, further evaluates the batting-friendly nature of wickets and gives a more shambolic outlook to Karachi’s batting performance so far within the competition. Babar Azam, Joe Clarke, Muhammad Nabi are supposedly the ones upon whom the foundation of the Kings batting rests. All appear to be out of touch.
With a collective total of 96 in the three outings at a meager strike rate of 105, the global T20 star and the number one ranked batsman is yet to leave his mark. King’s batting lineup has always been heavily dependent on Azam’s performances, so him being short on runs is having a dent on the whole unit.
A poor run of form from Muhammad Nabi isn’t helping the team’s cause either. He has assembled only 25 runs in 3 innings. He is supposedly the one to bring that X-factor to Karachi’s batting along with the likes of Sharjeel khan. But painfully for kings, he has failed to deliver the punch.
Joe Clarke is another name who has failed to continue with his sparkle from the Big bash league. He seems to be struggling under the burden of huge hopes that are pinned to him.
Unavailability of Key Bowlers
Unfortunately for Karachi, they have been forced to feed inexperienced bowlers on these absolute batting paradise tracks.
(Is Mohammad Amir’s absence making a huge difference in the team bowling?)
The absence of Muhammad Amir from the scenes due to injury, combined with the unavailability of Chris Jordan because of National duty has jolted the bowling combination of the popular franchise and has contributed heavily to the failure of Babar Azam and his men in containing the opposition teams, especially within the death overs.
Lack of Variety in Spin Department
With the names like Imad Wasim & Muhammad Nabi in their ranks, Kings aren’t short on quality but it’s the variety that seems missing.
Leg spinners form the very essence of T20 cricket these days. They bring in agility and are believed to be genuine wicket-taking options. Karachi doesn’t have any among their camp. Adding on to their miseries in the middle overs bowling.
Stunted Evolution of Emerging Cricketers
Pakistan Super League has always been regarded as one of the finest competitions globally, mainly because of how persistently it has been churning out quality young players.
From the very beginning, franchises have worked on associating few of the finest emerging cricketers with them, helping them out in their development and ultimately yielding the reward in shape of their payback performances for these franchises. Cricketers like Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Hasnain are prime examples of it.
Karachi Kings have unfortunately lagged in this regard. They hardly persisted with any emerging talent through his developmental phase and hence are now struggling to have a few genuine servants who are willing to return the favors wholeheartedly.
All these reasons combined have contributed stiffly to the failure of Karachi. Babar and his men have worked cut out. They need to regulate all these issues as quickly as possible before it spills out of their control.
Also Read:
