In the inaugural edition of PSL, the Kings underwhelmed after a good start, winning only two matches in the whole tournament - both against rivals Lahore Qalandars. This time around, they've strengthened the team with West Indian stars Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, complimented by a 22-year-old widely considered to be the future of Pakistan's batting - Babar Azam. Kumar Sangakkara takes over the reins as captain; will the host of changes prove to be a success and take Karachi to a victory in 2nd edition of the tournament?

By Amir Husain (3rd February, 2017)

Full squad: Chris Gayle (WI), Kieron Pollard (WI), Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Ravi Bopara (Eng), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Imad Wasim, Babar Azam, Ryan Mclaren (SA), Sohail Khan, Shahzaib Hasan, Saifullah Bangash, Khurram Manzoor, Kashif Bhatti, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Mohsin

Supplementary: Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Usama Mir, Rahat Ali, Aamad Alam

Captain: Kumar Sangakkara

Coaching staff: Mickey Arthur (Head Coach/Team Advisor), Azhar Mahmood (Coach/Team Advisor), Rashid Latif (Team Director/Team Advisor), Shoaib Malik (Player/Team Advisor), Saleem Yousuf (Team Advisor), Jalaluddin (Team Advisor)

The Kings of Karachi will appear in the 2017 edition of the Pakistan Super League as one of the favourites. The sheer number of match-winners and an extremely well-balanced squad are two main reasons for their top billing.

The well cliched "nice blend of youth and experience" will be on display in the team line-up with the legendary Kumar Sangakkara leading the team this year. Whilst Shoaib Malik's previous stint as captain of this team ended in tears last year, in Kumar Sangakkara Karachi will have the services of a top professional who could take his team the pinnacle, provided he can get the best out of some very talented individuals at his beck and call.

The abundance of all-rounders in Shoaib Malik, Ravi Bopara and Imad Wasim should be enough to put some apprehension in Karachi's opponents as any one of these all-rounders can win you a twenty over match with either bat or ball. Whether they can all fit in one team will be a "good" headache for the captain and the vastly experienced Coach Mickey Arthur who will have a pretty good idea to get the best out of these players, especially in conditions in the UAE which will sort the spin all-rounder types.

Mohammad Amir's recent international outings may not have impressed all but many who saw him take that hattrick against Lahore Qalandars last year will know that he will be more than a handful for all batsmen. Add to that the wicket-taking and death-bowling ability of Sohail Khan and backup provided by the likes of Ryan McLaren and you have a decent pace attack capable to shaking any opposition on its day. Usama Mir, the highly rated young leg-spinner who has impressed in domestic tournaments in Pakistan, may also get some games and could be crucial to stemming the flow of runs in the unlikely case of Amir's and Sohail's inability to take early wickets.

The top order batting for Karachi is something of a captain's dream. With the aggressive Chris Gayle and Shahzaib Hasan and free-scoring Kumar Sangakkara at the top complimented by the likes of Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik to come down the order, only good things are expected from this batting line-up. Last year Babar Azam was a rookie but this time the ODI record-breaker fresh from some heroic performances in Australia could easily win games single-handedly if provided support by others in the team.

In current Pakistan Head Coach Mickey Arthur and Azhar Mahmood, Karachi Kings will have some heavy duty expertise to call upon in the coaching department. The recent coaching experience with many of the players will be more than beneficial for getting the most out of the team.

As we saw in the 2016 edition of the PSL, having big names in your line-up doesn't necessarily guarantee success. The Karachi Kings will therefore need to guard against complacency if they are to rise up and walk away with the trophy in front of thousands of fans in Lahore this March.

Strengths - Safety in number of experienced big-match performers with Imad Wasim as the go-to guy in times of stress.

Weaknesses - Pace bowling department apart from Mohammad Amir will struggle to do anything of note so a lot will depend on spinners.

Verdict - Lacks the overall wherewithal to lift the trophy but if Gayle and Amir can get going then who knows what is possible?

Key man: Babar Azam

Player to watch out for: Usama Mir

Discuss!