The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Hello, good evening sports fans, it’s me Ayyaz Malik aka The Sports Buff. I hope you’re well, looking after yourselves and are in good health. I want to talk about an important issue in the life of sports and that’s T20 cricket.

To be more precise, I want to talk about PSL cricket. As you know I love the PSL and think if not the BBL, then it’s surely the PSL that is the second-best domestic T20 league in world cricket.

The top spot belongs to the IPL, but last years revamps left me unimpressed. Moving the topic back to the Pakistan Super League, it’s only right if I talk about Karachi Kings.

The Kings who were PSL champions three seasons ago are a shadow of that team in its glory years. Last year’s showing in the PSL, broke records, the wrong kind.

Karachi had won just won one game all season, beating the Quetta Gladiators’ record of two. Early doors for this season to make such a call, but things don’t look like they’re set to change for Imad Wasim’s men.

Three season’s ago it was Wasim who lead The Kings to glory. Last year in a doomed spell in charge, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, was to a point scapegoated for the franchise’s poor showing.

Now that Babar has gone, gone to be captain of Peshawar Zalmi, then what are the reasons for Karachi Kings not winning games now? Just like last year, they’re losing thrillers.

Today’s game between them and the Multan Sultans was another one of those tight games. Having looked in control of the contest, Multan wrestled back the initiative and won a tight game that they arguably had no right in winning.

Karachi haven’t been doing that. This plagued them last year and is threatening to do the same thing this year too. All the games they have lost have been by a close margin.

The only game they did win, a 67-run win against defending champions Lahore Qalanders was when they were defending a total. Maybe Karachi Kings should build on that as a strength. Players like Qasim Akram who can hit a long ball, for him to be on the bench seems ludicrous to put it mildly.

Fine details are hurting Karachi in matches. In Imad Wasim, they have a proven leader, but the team makeup leaves a bit to be desired. In my own humble opinion, bar James Vince’s brilliant knock, the team management are having a brain scramble on how to sort the team out.

Imran Tahir although superb, shouldn’t be the primary option for Karachi Kings, they need to look for younger talent in the spin department . Part-time spinner Shoaib Malik completing his four overs quota may prove depth in the bowling department, but it also shows no depth in the front line spin bowling department.

Here’s to hoping I am wrong and that Karachi Kings go on a winning run, but if I am right, no one can say that they didn’t see this coming.

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