Emerging from the rubble of a failed campaign first time around, can a new look Lahore Qalandars side under the stewardship of Brendon McCullum rise above all and claim the PSL 2017 crown?

By Haroon Hussain (30th January, 2017)

Full squad: Brendon McCullum (NZ), Sunil Narine (WI), Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Jason Roy (ENG), Yasir Shah, James Franklin (NZ), Mohammad Rizwan, Cameron Delport (SA), Azhar Ali, Aamer Yamin, Zafar Gohar, Fakhar Zaman, Bilawal Bhatti, Ghulam Mudassar, Usman Qadir

Supplementary: Grant Ellott (NZ), Chris Green (AUS), Saif Badar, Mohammad Irfan

Captain: Brendon McCullum

Coaching staff: Aaqib Javed (Director Cricket Operations), Mudassar Nazar (Icon), Paddy Upton (Coach), Brendon McCullum (Mentor), Shawn Bradstreet (Fielding Coach), John Gloster (Physiotherapist)

Heading into the second edition of the Pakistan Super League, the Lahore Qalandars are looking to revitalise their form and performances in order to avoid another early departure from the competition. By far the most substantial move made by Lahore for the second edition of PSL has been to sign Brendon McCullum. This move derives multiple benefits for the Qalandars; an explosive, match-winning batsman, who in his pomp was the best in this format and more critically, McCullum also replaces Azhar Ali as captain. This may be integral for Lahore’s prospects in the tournament, as injection of an attacking brand of Cricket, which McCullum is renowned for, may be the catalyst that Lahore need to orchestrate a successful campaign.

The Lahore Qalandars squad has the capacity to start and finish strongly, with batsmen built for T20s and specialist bowlers such as Sunil Narine and Sohail Tanvir who excel in the format. In order to triumph this time around, the Qalandars are hinging their hopes on their power packed top order and their battery of slow medium and spin bowlers. Brendon McCullum, Umar Akmal, Jason Roy and Fakhar Zaman comprise arguably the best top order in the tournament and will be relied upon heavily to score the bulk of the runs if Lahore are to venture past the group stages. However, the Qalandars lack the dynamic batsmen in the middle and lower order which ornament their top order. James Franklin, Mohammad Rizwan, Grant Elliot and Azhar Ali are all capable players but lack the urgency required in T20 Cricket. This problem area may be solved by Cameron Delport, who was among the runs in the first PSL and he may prove to be the engine driver to power the Qalandars home.

The major reason for the failure first time around was the lack of wicket taking options for Lahore, they did not have a single bowler in the top ten wicket takers in the first PSL (Zafar Gohar being their highest with 7 wickets in 6 matches). To this end, the Qalandars have invested in two experienced T20 veterans – Sunil Narine with his mystery spin and Sohail Tanvir with his befuddling bowling action and slower balls. The form of Tanvir will be particularly key as he will be the main medium pacer as an injury to Dwayne Bravo has resulted in the swashbuckling all-rounder being ruled out of the PSL. The duo of Tanvir and Narine alongside Gohar form a potent triumvirate on slow and low pitches and will be expected to enhance the Lahore bowling greatly along with the exciting talent of Ghulam Mudassar.

Coaching-wise, the local input of Aqib Javed and Mudassar Nazar and the international experience of Paddy Upton is the optimal combination of tactical insight and mental conditioning that the Qalandars need to progress through to the final stages of the PSL. Qalandars was anointed the team name because of the Sufi mystic culture of Lahore, as a juxtaposition, it will be Brendon McCullum imprinting his positive and attacking-oriented culture on the Qalandars which helped New Zealand reach the 2015 World Cup final under his leadership. For the team’s and fans’ sake, the Qalandars will aim to go one step further and lift the coveted trophy.

Key man: Brendon McCullum

Players to watch out for: Jason Roy, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir and Ghulam Mudassar

Discuss!