Lahore Qalandars

Lahore Qalandars
لاهور قلندرز
League: Pakistan Super League
Captain: Brendon McCullum
Coach: Paddy Upton
City: Lahore
Colors:
Owner: QALCO (Qatar Oil and Lubricants Company Rana Fawad)
Founded: 2015
Official website: lahoreqalandars.com

Lahore Qalandars (Urdu: لاہور قلندرز‎; Punjabi: لہور قلندرز) is a Pakistani professional cricket franchise which plays in the Pakistan Super League. It nominally represents Lahore in the league.[1][2] The team is owned by Qatar Lubricants Company, Ltd. The team is currently captained by Brendon McCullum and coached by Paddy Upton, a former South African cricketer. Lahore Qalandars was the second most expensive franchise and was one of the few teams sold to an international company.

Franchise history

In 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the inaugural season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) would take place in February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates.[3] On 3 December 2015, the PCB unveiled the owners of five city-based franchises. The Lahore franchise was sold to the Qatar Lubricants Company for US$24 Million for a span of ten years,[4][5] making it the second most expensive team of PSL (after The Karachi Kings, which sold for US$26 million).[3][4]

In 2016, the Lahore Qalandars franchise organised "Jazz Rising Stars" trials across eight Pakistani cities, to identify upcoming youth talent. Shortlisted players would travel to Australia and train with Sydney Thunder, while the top two performers would get the opportunity to play for the Qalandars.[6] During the programme an ambidextrous fast bowler, Yasir Jan from Rawalpindi, was identified by former Pakistan fast bowler Aqib Javed.[7]

2016 Season

Umar Akmal was team's star performer in 2016 with 335 runs in seven matches

After drafting star players such as Chris Gayle, Umar Akmal, Dwayne Bravo, Azhar Ali and Yasir Shah in the initial player draft, the Qalandars started the tournament with two consecutive losses against Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi.[8][9][10][11] Their first victory came against Quetta Gladiators

The team won only two of their eight group stage matches, although they could still have qualified for the play-off section of the tournament if they had won their final group game against Islamabad United. A loss by five wickets saw Qalanders finish last in the first edition of the league. Despite playing only seven games, Umar Akmal was the highest run scorer of the tournament and won the 'Best Batsman' award for his 335 runs with four fifties. During the finals, Qalandars were given the "Spirit of The Game" award for showing the best sportsmanship throughout the tournament.[12]

2017 season

Lahore Qalandars icon player in the first season of the PSL Chris Gayle was traded for Sohail Tanvir of the Karachi Kings during the off-season trade window.[13] Sohaib Maqsood was also traded for Aamer Yamin of Peshawar Zalmi.[14] In September 2016, the team also signed New Zealand's former captain Brendon McCullum as their new captain during the off-season.[15]

During the 2017 PSL players draft, Lahore picked a number of new players, including bowlers Yasir Shah and Sunil Narine. The team retained players such as Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali and Dwayne Bravo.[16]

Team identity

The Lahore franchise was launched on 12 December 2015 by owner Fawad Rana. The "Q" in the Qalandars was linked to both represent both Qatar and QALCO[17] and Rana added that the name was chosen to highlight the Sufi culture of Lahore – "Qalandar" is a common term used in Pakistan to describe Sufi mystics or saints whose shrines attract millions of devotees and tourists. The team's logo features a Sufi performing the famous Sufi whirling with three stumps to his right and a cricket ball in the bottom, and is meant to represent the Sufi culture of the region[18]

The Qalandars' kit colors are red and black, which are prominently depicted in their logo. Mobilink was the team's first shirt sponsor and the title sponsor for the franchise.[19] Alkaram, a Textile Mill situated in Karachi, was announced as another sponsor[19] and the media partner of the team is Geo Tv.

Lahore Qalandars' official song was sung by Pakistani musician Asrar. The theme song was used by the franchise to promote the team on social media and was played during the opening ceremony when the team made its first entrance.

Current squad

Chris Gayle was the icon Player of Lahore Qalandars in first season
Brendon McCullum is the captain of Lahore Qalandars in the second season

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

As of 20 October 2016
Name Nat. Batting Style Bowling Style Joined Notes
Saif Badar Pakistan Right-hand Legbreak, Googly 2017
Azhar Ali Pakistan Right-hand Right-Arm Legbreak 2016
Brendon McCullum New Zealand Right-hand Right-arm Medium2017Overseas/Captain/Batting Mentor
Cameron Delport South Africa Left hand Right-arm Medium 2016 Overseas
Fakhar Zaman Pakistan Left-hand Left-arm Orthodox spin 2017
All-rounders
Bilawal Bhatti Pakistan Right-hand Right-arm Fast 2017
Anton Devcich New Zealand Left-hand Left-arm slow Orthodox 2017Overseas
Usman Qadir Pakistan Left-hand Right-arm Leg-break 2017
Dwayne Bravo West Indies Cricket Board Right-hand Right-arm Medium-fast 2016 Overseas
Sohail Tanvir Pakistan Left-Hand Left-arm Medium-fast 2017
Aamer Yamin Pakistan Right-Hand Right-arm Medium-fast 2017
Grant Elliott New Zealand Right-hand Right-arm Fast Medium 2017Overseas
Wicket-keepers
Mohammad Rizwan Pakistan Right-hand — 2016
Umar Akmal Pakistan Right-hand — 2016
Bowlers
Ghulam Mudassar Pakistan Right-hand Left-arm Fast-Medium2017
Shaun Tait Australia Right-hand Right-arm Fast2017Overseas
Sunil Narine West Indies Cricket Board Left-hand Right-arm off-spin2017Overseas
Yasir Shah Pakistan Right-hand Right-arm Leg-spin 2017
Zafar Gohar Pakistan Left-hand SlowerLeft-arm Orthodox 2016
Mohammad Irfan Pakistan Left-hand Right-arm Leg Spin 2017

Management and coaching staff

Name Position
Rana Fawad Owner
Pakistan Rana Atif CEO
Pakistan Rana Sameen Manager
South Africa Paddy Upton Head Coach/Fitness Trainer
Pakistan Shahid Aslam Assistant Coach
Australia Shawn Bradstreet Fielding Coach
Pakistan Aqib Javed Director[20]
Pakistan Mudassar Nazar Advisor & Icon
Pakistan Ijaz Ahmed Batting Coach & Consultant
Australia John Gloster Physio

Captains

No. Nat Player From To Mat Won Lost tie NR %
1 Pakistan Azhar Ali 2016 2016 7 2 5 0 0 28.57
2 West Indies Cricket Board Dwayne Bravo 2016 2016 1 0 1 0 0 00.00

Result summary

Performance summary in Pakistan Super League
Year Pld Won Loss NR Tied SR(%) Position Summary
2016 8 2 6 0 0 25.00% 5th Group Stage

Head-to-head record

[21]

Opposition Span Mat Won Lost Tied NR Success Rate
Islamabad United 2016–present 2 0 2 0 0 0.00%
Karachi Kings 2016–present 2 0 2 0 0 0.00%
Peshawar Zalmi 2016–present 2 1 1 0 0 50.00%
Quetta Gladiators 2016–present 2 1 1 0 0 50.00%

References

  1. ↑ "Cricket fans in Qatar now cheer for Lahore Qalandars". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Cricket fans in Qatar can now cheer for Lahore Qalandars!". Gulf Times. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Pakistan Super League: PCB will earn 93 million approx 10 million rs in ten years from PSL auction". 7 December 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Pakistan Super League: Seven Companies fight it out to buy franchises". Express Tribune. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Pakistan Super League – Tribune Labs". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Rapid ambidextrous quick discovered". Cricket Australia. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  7. ↑ http://aaj.tv/2016/10/pakistans-ambidextrous-bowler-pushes-boundaries/AAJ News, 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  8. ↑ "Qalandars felt Yasir, Mustafizur's absence in PSL: Lahore Owner". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  9. ↑ http://espncricinfo.com//ci/engine/match/959177.html/, ESPN CricInfo, 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  10. ↑ http://dunyanews.tv/en/Cricket/321350-PSL-T20-Karachi-Kings-win-toss-choose-to-field-a/, DunyaNewsPakistan, 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  11. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/1041590/live-lahore-qalandars-vs-peshawar-zalmi/, Express Tribune, 2016-02-06 Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  12. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/1053169/islamabad-crowned-psl-champions/, ""Express Tribune"" 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  13. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/1184862/psl-2017-sangakkara-released-quetta-gayle-traded-lahore/Express Tribune, 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  14. ↑ http://socialsports360.com/trading-in-psl/Social Sports 360, 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  15. ↑ http://dailytimes.com.pk/sports/20-Sep-16/qalandars-sign-mccullum-as-new-captain/Daily times, 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  16. ↑ https://www.thenewstribe.com/2016/10/20/psl-2017-lahore-qalandars-final-squad-psl-second-edition/Daily times, 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  17. ↑ http://m.gulf-times.com/story/466262/Cricket-fans-in-Qatar-can-now-cheer-for-Lahore-Qal/, ""Gulf Times"" 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  18. ↑ http://pslfantasy.com/news/Lahore-Qalandar-unveil-logo-for-psl/, ""Cric Tale"" 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  19. 1 2 http://phoneworld.com.pk/mobilink-announces-its-partnership-with-lahore-qalandars-for-psl/, ""Phone World"" 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  20. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/1088518/aaqib-javed-resigns-from-uae-coaching-joins-psl-franchise/, ""The Express Tribune"" 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-04-21
  21. ↑ "PSL Points Table 2016". PSL T20. Retrieved 2016-02-07.

External links

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