Can The Qalandars Salvage Pride Against Islamabad United?

It has all the makings of a campaign that Lahore Qalandars wouldn’t ever want to reflect on. They’ve had a few bad seasons over the years, perhaps none as abysmal as this one. On the field, they’ve been a pale shadow of the championship-winning team they were for two years in a row.

Off the field, issues with the PCB, especially with Haris Rauf's case, haven’t helped their cause, with team owner Sameen Rana taking a potshot at the governing body for tearing up Rauf’s central contract two days before the season.

As it turned out, Rauf also picked up an injury that ruled him out of the remainder of the season in what proved to be a massive blow. It has meant Shaheen Afridi has had to shoulder too much of the burden of their bowling that has massively misfired on many flat decks where dew has also negated it to a greater extent.

Rauf had a poor tournament while he was there, but even when he picked 1 for 22 in a top spell, he saw the Qalandars dethroned by Karachi Kings in a last-ball defeat. What’s worse is that he dislocated his shoulder attempting a catch off the penultimate delivery. As if things couldn’t get worse after six winless games, they saw their seventh game being washed out, thereby closing any possibility of a mathematical miracle that could’ve still been seen through making a late dash to the playoffs. 

Islamabad United come into the game on the back of a washout against the Gladiators in Rawalpindi. This leaves them fourth in the table, with two wins in six, and barely in the periphery of the playoffs with Kings breathing down their necks. So they will know they can’t slip up against the Qalandars in a battle of the laggards, for it could have a detrimental effect on their campaign.

Naseem’s return from injury, in particular, should be a massive relief, given the bigger picture surrounding Pakistan’s hopes of an improved show at the T20 World Cup in June. United clearly have the aces with this one against Qaladars, who are low on morale and firepower at this stage. A Shaheen Afridi dream spell could change that. Can he? It’s a tough ask.