Salman Iqbal apologises for Karachi Kings’ poor performance in PSL 7

The owner of Karachi Kings and CEO of ARY Digital Network Salman Iqbal has apologised to Karachiites for poor performance as the Babar Azam-eleven was outclassed by other teams in Pakistan Super League (PSL).

2020 PSL champion Karachi Kings have faced back-to-back five defeats in the seventh edition so far.

After KK’s fifth defeat in a row, the franchise owner Salman Iqbal said on Twitter, “I’m sorry Karachi! We tried to put together the best team but things just haven’t gone our way. We have been outclassed by other teams. We had all these injuries and covid!”

He added, “I love this team as much as all the fans of #karachi. We will try and fix it! Shall come back inshallah!”

I’m sorry Karachi! We tried to put together the best team but things just haven’t gone our way. We have been outclassed by other teams. We had all these injuries and covid! I love this team as much as all the fans of #karachi . We will try and fix it! Shall come back inshallah!

— Salman Iqbal ARY (@Salman_ARY) February 6, 2022

Reacting to his tweet, KK pacer Umaid Asif wrote, “It’s never over until it’s over @Salman_ARY bhai. Keep believing. Insha’Allah change of venue will bring change of fortunes. When you hit rock bottom, there is only one way to go.”

It’s never over until it’s over @Salman_ARY bhai. Keep believing. Insha’Allah change of venue will bring change of fortunes.
When you hit rock bottom, there is only one way to go. 🆙⬆️ https://t.co/X7TMPaf29P

— Umaid Asif عمید آصف 🇵🇰 (@umaid_asif) February 6, 2022

Iqbal replied, “Inshallah Umaid! I for one has never left hope for #karachikings nor for #Pakistan. I will not quit so soon neither will let the team loose hope Inshallah.”

Inshallah UMAId! I for one has never left hope for #karachikings nor for #Pakistan . I will not quit so soon neither will let the team loose hope Inshallah https://t.co/9Dw8ZhdOfq

— Salman Iqbal ARY (@Salman_ARY) February 6, 2022

Mickey Arthur commented, “Salman I know how invested you are in this incredible franchise….cricket goes like this sometimes,you have some incredible players and a good structure…It will HAPPEN soon!”

Salman I know how invested you are in this incredible franchise….cricket goes like this sometimes,you have some incredible players and a good structure…It will HAPPEN soon! #keepthefaithKK

— Mickey Arthur (@Mickeyarthurcr1) February 7, 2022

REASONS OF KK’S DEFEATS

Karachi Kings, the strong franchise of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 7, failed to meet the expectations of its fans despite being captained by the world’s top batsman Babar Azam as it faced back-to-back defeats in the mega cricketing event.

The chances of Karachi Kings have dimmed to advance to next level after the hapless performance in the ongoing PSL 7 following the consecutive defeats since the beginning of the tournament against Multan Sultans and they lost matches against Quetta Gladiators and Lahore Qalandars.

In an analytical view, it is obvious that the Kings are facing trouble to make a good combination in batting and bowling sides, especially in the absence of Mohammad Amir and Chris Jordan. Jordan has just joined KK.

Babar Azam-led Karachi Kings were outclassed by Multan Sultan with a seven-wicket win and then they faced an eight-wicket defeat by Quetta Gladiators and six-wicket by Lahore Qalandars, 9-run defeat against Peshawar Zalmi and 42-run defeat against Islamabad United.

Players drafting

In the draft picks, the Kings have had Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Tom Abell, Rohail Nazir, Mohammad Imran (wildcard: from Emerging to Silver), Qasim Akram (Right to Match), Faisal Akram, Talha Ahsan and Romario Shepherd.

The retained players included Babar Azam, Imad Wasim (both Platinum), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nabi (both Diamond), Joe Clarke (Gold; Brand Ambassador), Aamer Yamin, Sharjeel Khan (both Gold) and Mohammad Ilyas (Silver)

According to the potential first XI, the players included Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Joe Clarke, Imad Wasim, Lewis Gregory, Mohammad Nabi, Aamir Yamin, Chris Jordan, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Amir and Talha Ahsan.

Later, some changes were made as injured Tom Abell was replaced by Ian Cockbain, Romario Shepherd was replaced by Tom Lammonby due to the first’s unavailability, whereas, Chris Jordan remained absent in the matches due to being a part of the English squad touring West Indies. Sahibzada Farhan and Jordan Thompson came in for the supplementary round and Mohammad Taha Khan as a partial replacement.

However, the wrong drafting of the players, neglecting the creation of a proper combination forced Kings to suffer defeats.

Amir’s absence

Karachi Kings have felt the absence of Mohammad Amir who is one of the top wicket-takers of PSL due to an injury. It was an unfortunate happening for the Kings to witness the star bowler’s unavailability after he suffered injury hours before the opening match of PSL.

Babar Azam: captain or batsman

There is no doubt over the brilliant captaincy of Babar Azam which led Pakistan first win against India in a world cup event but an individual’s performance is obviously not enough for bagging the victories, especially without proper combinations in batting and bowling fields.

However, the lack of batting combination and low scoring in the powerplay by Babar Azam that gave a direct impact on the middle-order batters, leaving them under pressure and resulting in their early collapse.

Azam is probably facing a lot of pressure on him after knowing the state of Kings’ weak middle-order batters which pushed him to stay on the crease for a longer inning besides stopping him to play fearlessly during the powerplays.