PSL Success
Charlie Reynolds looks back at what turned out to be a rewarding Pakistan Super League
Charlie Reynolds on how the PSL turned out to be a joy
It might have started ignominiously, with Shaggy and a spot-fixing scandal, but after just over four weeks of action, the Pakistan Super League ended in triumph, with high-level cricket returning safely to Pakistani shores for the first time since the Sri Lankan team were attacked there in 2009.
In the end, 24 games and 251 sixes after the tournament began on February 9, Peshawar Zalmi were crowned champions, Quetta Gladiators finding themselves runners up for the second year in succession.
It was ultimately a popular result, with Peshawar, already a wellsupported side thanks to the presence of the adored Shahid Afridi in their squad, earning widespread respect from many more fans thanks to nearly all of their overseas players opting to do what many others had refused to do and travel to Lahore to play in the final.
Under the charismatic leadership of Darren Sammy, who’s natural enthusiasm for the game and penchant for taking selfies made him the new hero of Pakistani cricket, Peshawar romped to a 58-run win – their wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal defying his many detractors to finish as both player and wicket-keeper of the tournament, as well as its leading run scorer.
Despite its hugely positive ending and the tantalising prospect of international cricket returning to Pakistan in the near future, the second edition of the PSL had about the rockiest start possible, with Islamabad United’s Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif sent home on only its second day – a spot-fixing investigation launched and the future of their cricketing careers looking perilous.
However quite surprisingly things soon calmed down and a closely-fought tournament managed to break out. The competition’s format is still not ideal, with 20 games played between the five teams before only eliminating one of them – the much-improved Lahore Qalandars suffering this ignominy for the second successive year – however the proposed inclusion of another franchise next season should alleviate this.
After its inception last year, this season’s PSL once again gave the impression that it will be a huge boon to Pakistani cricket, although as in its maiden outing, the tournament uncovered a greater wealth of bowling than batting talent.
Building on promising showings last year, left-arm seamer Rumman Raees and leg-spinner Usama Mir, of Islamabad and Karachi Kings respectively, ended the tournament not only equal third in the wickets table but also showcasing an ability to snatch unlikely victories with some nerveless death bowling.
Last year’s breakout youngster, Mohammad Nawaz, didn’t quite hit the heights of his debut season, but nevertheless continued to impress for Quetta, who this year introduced another hugely impressive left-arm spinner to the world, 18-year-old Hasan Khan announcing himself in some style.
It was another teenager though who really stole the show as far as new Pakistani cricket talent goes, Islamabad’s 18-year-old all rounder Shadab Khan bursting onto the scene with a succession of excellent performances with both bat and ball, not to mention a sharpness in the field that has not been an area of the game that many of his compatriots have excelled at in recent years.
Shadab also hugely impressed his coach Dean Jones, the former Australian international declaring him ready for international selection already. His efforts with the bat, along with some exciting knocks from Lahore’s Fakhar Zaman and a glimpse of promise from Hussain Talat, marked an improvement in the discovery of fresh Pakistani batting talent although the future of their bowling undeniably look brighter at the moment.
Elsewhere Kevin Pietersen enjoyed a positively schizophrenic tournament, at one stage collecting three ducks in three successive games and only facing two balls in the process, but also hitting arguably the innings of the tournament as he blasted Quetta to an unlikely victory over Lahore in Sharjah with an
The sophomore season of the PSL will surely be remembered as a success, managing to escape from the early scandal of a spot-fixing sting relatively unscathed
unbeaten 88 from 42 balls that included eight sixes.
Fellow, albeit non-exiled, England internationals also impressed, with Jason Roy, Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings all firing with the bat before leaving for the Caribbean and Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan helping their sides into the final, the latter making a victorious trip to Lahore – and all in all it was a hugely positive showing as far as England players were concerned.
Ultimately the sophomore season of the PSL will surely be remembered as a success, managing to escape from the early scandal of a spot-fixing sting relatively unscathed and delivering a high-profile return to cricket in Pakistan.
However while its hosting in the UAE makes sense as far as player safety and organisation goes, the continued lack of decent crowds in Dubai are an undeniable if fairly unavoidable negative, although there was both some improvement from last season and improved attendance in Sharjah.
Overall though, as the final in Lahore showed, the tournament will never reach its full potential without a complete return to Pakistan – let’s just hope that one day the security situation allows for that to happen.