Lahore Qalandars should be renamed as Lahore Badshahs: Former Pakistan cricketer

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has stated that Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars should be renamed as Lahore Badshahs as they fail to live up to expectations every season.   

Islamabad United defeated Lahore Qalandars by 71 runs on Wednesday, which is the biggest victory margin, in terms of runs, in the history of HBL PSL. The previous biggest winning margin was 67 runs achieved by Quetta Gladiators against Karachi Kings in 2018.

“It is disappointing to see Lahore’s poor performance every season and it’s better if they rename their franchise as Lahore Badshahs,” said Ali while speaking in a YouTube video. “It seems there is badshahat [kingship] in Lahore Qalandars camp. Apart from Aaqib [Javed] there is not even a single renowned person in the coaching staff. Fawad Rana and Aaqib should add more experienced individuals in their coaching staff, who know how to effectively utilise the players at their disposal.”

ALSO READ: ‘Fawad Rana might sell Lahore Qalandars’

Lahore Qalandars are currently at the bottom of the HBL PSL 2020 points table with just one win after five games.

Ali also criticised Peshawar Zalmi’s decision to appoint Darren Sammy as head coach of the franchise.

“It seems Sammy is stronger than Mohammad Akram [with regards to authority] despite the fact that Akram understands cricket and is a very nice guy,” he said. “This decision [to appoint Sammy as head coach] will backfire and will adversely affect Peshawar Zalmi’s cricket.”