2017 Karachi Kings season

Karachi Kings
2017 season
CoachMickey Arthur
CaptainKumar Sangakkara
PSL 2017Playoffs (3rd)
Most runsBabar Azam (291)
Most wicketsSohail Khan (16)

The Karachi Kings is a franchise cricket team that represents Karachi in the Pakistan Super League. They are one of the five teams that had a competition in the 2017 Pakistan Super League. The team was captained by Kumar Sangakkara, and they stand on third position after winning four matches from their eight matches in the PSL 2017.[1]

Squad

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Kumar Sangakkara and Babar Azam joined Karachi for the second season of the PSL whilst Azhar Mehmood signed as a coach. Sohail Tanvir was traded for Chris Gayle of Lahore Qalandars during the off-season trade window.[2] During the 2017 PSL players draft Karachi retained Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Ravi Bopara, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan, Saifullah Bangash, and Shahzaib Hasan. The team added nine players to the squad, including Kieron Pollard, Mahela Jayawardena and Ryan McLaren.[3]

Name Nationality Batting style Bowling style Year signed Notes
Batsmen
Babar Azam  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm off spin 2017
Chris Gayle  West Indies Left-handed Right-arm offbreak 2017 Overseas
Khurram Manzoor  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm ffbreak 2017
Mahela Jayawardene  Sri Lanka Right-handed Right-arm medium 2017 Overseas
Shahzaib Hasan  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm offbreak 2016
All-rounders
Hasan Mohsin  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm medium 2017
Imad Wasim  Pakistan Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2016
Ryan McLaren  South Africa Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast 2017 Overseas
Kashif Bhatti  Pakistan Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2017
Ravi Bopara  England Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast 2016 Overseas
Shoaib Malik  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm off spin 2016
Kieron Pollard  West Indies Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast 2017 Overseas
Wicket-keepers
Kumar Sangakkara  Sri Lanka Left-handed 2017 Overseas, Captain
Saifullah Bangash  Pakistan Right-handed 2016
Bowlers
Abrar Ahmed  Pakistan Left-handed Right-arm leg spin 2017
Mohammad Amir  Pakistan Left-handed Left-arm fast 2016
Rahat Ali  Pakistan Right-handed Left-arm fast 2018
Sohail Khan  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm fast 2016
Usama Mir  Pakistan Right-handed Right-arm leg spin 2016
Usman Khan  Pakistan Right-handed Left-arm medium-fast 2017
Abdul Ameer  Pakistan Left-handed Left-arm medium-fast 2017

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

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Pakistan Super League

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In their first game, Karachi Kings lost to Peshawar Zalmi by 7 wickets in one-sided affair that saw them post a target of just 118 in their 20 overs.[4] In the following game, against the Quetta Gladiators, the Kings failed to defend 160 and lost by 7 wickets yet again.[5] Even as the tournament progressed to Sharjah, the Kings continued their losing streak. Facing a loss this time to arch-rivals, Lahore Qalandars. The match was closely fought and a partnership of 101 runs between veterans Kumar Sangakkara and Shoaib Malik almost won it for the Kings. But in the end they fell short of the target of 180 by 7 runs.[6] But in the next game, against defending champions Islamabad United. the team finally managed to put themselves on the points table. The win came through the Duckworth-Lewis method as the Kings were ahead of the par score by 8 runs when returning rain forced to abandon the already 13-over match.[7] In their final game of the Sharjah leg, the Kings continued their winning streak to get past Peshawar Zalmi in a thrilling contest. Setting up a target of 175, the Kings had the Zalmis reduced to 69-6 before Shahid Afridi and Darren Sammy combined in a 70-run partnership that almost won the game for the Zalmis. However, the King's bowling prevailed in the end to give their team a 9-run victory.[8]

As the tournament moved back to Dubai, the Kings couldn't continue their winning streak and lost to table-toppers, Quetta Gladiators, by 6 wickets. Batting first, the Kings set a target of 155 runs, which they were unable to defend despite a 3-wicket-over from pacer Sohail Khan. This loss pushed the Karachi Kings to the bottom of the table once again.[9] However, in the next game, which had become a must-win for both participating teams, the Kings managed to prevail over the Lahore Qalandars in a thrilling last-ball finish. Chasing 156, the team required 10 runs from the last two balls, which Kieron Pollard surpassed with back-to-back sixes to keep his team alive in the tournament.[10] They qualified for Eliminator, where they defeated Islamabad United to advance to Qualifier 2.

Season standings

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Karachi Kings finished third in the points table of 2017 Pakistan Super League.

Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR
1 Peshawar Zalmi (C) 8 4 3 1 9 0.309
2 Quetta Gladiators (R) 8 4 3 1 9 0.166
3 Karachi Kings (3rd) 8 4 4 0 8 −0.098
4 Islamabad United (4th) 8 4 4 0 8 −0.139
5 Lahore Qalandars 8 3 5 0 6 −0.223
Source: ESPNcricinfo
  • Top 4 teams qualified for the playoffs
  •   Advanced to Qualifier
  •   Advanced to Eliminator 1

Notes:

  • C = Champions;
  • R = Runner-up;
  • (x) = Position at the end of the tournament;

References

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  1. ^ Samiuddin, Osman (2 March 2017). "Disjointed Karachi Kings doing the job". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Babar, Gayle and Sangakkara joins kings for 2017 season". No. Daily Times. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Karachi Kings 2017 Squad". No. The News. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Morgan 80* powers Peshawar to victory". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Rossouw, Sarfraz fifties flatten Karachi". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Lahore edge past Karachi despite Sangakarra fireworks". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Babar, spinners put Karachi on board". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Mir repels Afridi heroics to secure win for Karachi". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Clinical Quetta clinch playoff berth with victory". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Pollard last-ball six keeps Karachi alive". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 February 2017.