Islamabad United have been the most successful franchise in the Pakistan Super League with two titles under their belt. Moreover, they have maintained a healthy winning percentage of 53.89 in the 77 games they played so far in the league.
In the inaugural season of the league, there was all the noise about Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars. However, both the teams disappointed their fans, and Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi became the fan-favourites.
In the midst of all the uproar, United snuck into the final and also lifted the trophy after beating Gladiators under the leadership of Misbahul Haq.
In the second edition of the league, the franchise was jolted by spot-fixing allegations and their two key players, Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif, were suspended and eventually banned from competitive cricket.
As the team had received a major blow, they ended up at the fourth spot in the tournament.
In the next instalment of the event, they entered the tournament with much determination and with the hunger to prove that they were there to win. Despite losing their captain Misbahul Haq to an injury, they did not stop.
In the first few games, Rumman Raees led the side, but he was also forced to sit out when he injured his knee while diving in a game against Quetta Gladiators.
Eventually, South Africa’s JP Duminy wore the captaincy band and inspired the unit to lift their second PSL title, this time at the National Stadium, Karachi.
In the following season of the T20 festival, the defending champions could only manage to occupy the third spot under the captaincy of Mohammad Sami.
The two-time champions had a quiet and disappointing fifth edition of the tournament, where under the captaincy of young Shadab Khan, they even failed to qualify to the playoffs.
Despite the poor show by the team under Shadab’s leadership, the management persisted with him and the move paid off as they once again stood third in the points table in 2021.
The latest episode of the biggest sporting event of the country once again saw United roaring and dominating their opponents.
This time, they were immaculate when the tournament kicked off; however, a few injury concerns, including that of Shadab Khan’s and the early departure of foreign players, hindered their progress.
Regardless, when Shadab returned to the field as the captain and England’s Alex Hales made a comeback to help the side in the playoffs, the unit looked totally different.
Yet again, they stood at the third spot and it took the eventual champions Lahore Qalandars all the hard work to knock them out of the tournament.
Let’s have a look at what made Islamabad United a formidable unit in PSL 7.
The good
Shadab, the all-rounder
Shadab Khan’s return to the form has been extremely fruitful for the franchise. The man dominated the tournament with both the bat and the ball.
He single-handedly, on occasions, put United in the driving seat with incredible bowling and impressive batting.
Khan carried on his form from the T20 World Cup semifinal, where he had dismissed four Australian batters in a losing cause.
In this edition of the glittering T20 league, he was the man with the golden arm for his team. Whenever United struggled while bowling, he provided them with a breakthrough.
The captain, who was sidelined for a couple of key contests due to an injury, remained the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He bowled in eight innings and took 19 wickets with a tight economy of merely 6.46. He had the best average in the whole of PSL 7, 10.89.
For a major chunk of the campaign, he was the leading wicket-taker, however, Shaheen Shah Afridi eventually surpassed him, who took 13 matches to better him with 20 scalps.
On the other hand, he was phenomenal with the bat too. Shadab looked to lead his troops from the front and usually came out to bat at the key position of number 4.
He batted in eight innings, scoring 268 runs at an average of 33.50 with a healthy strike rate of 162.68. His runs tally featured two half-centuries, including an almost game-changing 91-run inning off 42 deliveries with the help of nine enormous sixes.
In absence of Shadab, the two-time champions lost three matches on the trot.
Shadab, the captain
Shadab, after having a disappointing first season and a decent second season, was more confident and learned as a leader this time around.
The 23-year-old intelligently manoeuvre his bowlers, especially Liam Dawson, Faheem Ashraf and Waqas Maqsood.
He was intelligent about when to use Dawson, Zahid Mahmood and also tried to save weak links like Hasan Ali. At times he was successful at what he was trying, other times, he failed.
All in all, it looked like Pakistan found a decent leader in the shape of Shadab during the recently concluded event.
The brand of cricket
Islamabad United were extremely aggressive in their approach in this edition of the PSL. They seem to follow the Brendon McCullum-style of batting where their openers attacked the bowlers from the word go.
It did not matter whether they were losing wickets or what, they went all guns blazing against their opponents. Sometimes the approach worked and sometimes it did not. However, the intent was always there.
This is the very reason they were able to score over 70 runs twice during the powerplay and 60+ on four different occasions.
Islamabad United maintained the highest average, 59, in the first six overs when the fielding restrictions are applied. The next best was Quetta Gladiators with 56, Peshawar Zalmi with 52, Multan Sultans with 48, Lahore Qalandars with 47 and Karachi Kings with 42.
They were also able to post the second-highest total of PSL 7, which was 229-4, and also put 190+ scores on the board four times.
Moreover, four of their batters, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Faheem Ashraf, Paul Stirling and Shadab Khan maintained strike rates 150+, 180.51, 177.94, 176.99 and 162.42, respectively. Meanwhile, Alex Hales scored at a strike rate of just below 150 (147.3 to be specific).
Furthermore, Azam Khan and Shadab were among the highest six-hitters in the tournament. The duo sent the ball over the ropes on 19 and 18 occasions, respectively, which is the third and fourth highest in the tournament.
United’s opening batter Hales was exceptional during the tournament as he scored 355 runs in nine matches at an average of 44.37 along with a strike rate of 147.3. He emerged as the fourth-highest run-getter of the season.
The bad
Poor fast bowling
One obvious problem that was evident to everyone was Islamabad United’s vulnerable fast bowling, especially with Hasan Ali struggling.
The right-arm pacer could not overcome his dip in the form that he first experienced in the T20 World Cup and offered freebies to the opponents.
Hasan played nine games for his team where he bowled 33.4 overs, took nine wickets and conceded 365 runs at an economy rate of 10.84.
On the other hand, Mohammad Wasim Jr, who is seen as the next big thing, played eight matches. He bowled 27.3 overs and leaked 308 runs at an embarrassing economy rate of 11.20. He also took eight wickets during the span.
Moreover, South Africa’s Marchant de Lange was given a place in the playing XI on five occasions, where he bowled 15 overs and took just two wickets while conceding runs at an expensive rate of 10.20.
Faheem Ashraf was probably the pick of the fast bowlers for United. However, he was also on the expensive side, conceding 284 runs at a rate of 8.35 and taking nine wickets in the ten matches he played.
In comparison, Ather Mahmood remained the best fast bowler for the former champions, though he played just three games. In the opportunities he was given, he bowled eight overs for 49 runs at an impressive rate of 6.12.
Had he been given more chances by the management, he might have proven his worth with the ball.
Wrong choice of stand-in captain
Islamabad United were hit heavily by the injuries and with their foreign players — Alex Hales and Paul Stirling — leaving halfway through, their overall combination suffered immensely.
However, when Shadab was sidelined due to an injury, the captaincy went to Asif Ali was the franchise’s vice-captain.
The decision turned out to be a rather strange one for the franchise as they lost all three games under the stand-in captain.
Not ignoring the fact that Asif had to manage a bunch of players that had too many inexperienced and new faces, but had the management given the captaincy to someone like Hasan, Faheem or maybe to someone like Dawson, the results might have been different.
Hasan was surely struggling as a bowler, but he has the experience of leading teams in domestic tournaments and is a fighter, who can put the same spirit in the side.
Similarly, Dawson looks like a calm character, who understands the game situation and take decisions accordingly.
There probably were better options for captaincy in the ranks, but it seemed United’s management made a blunder.
In all, United were immensely entertaining throughout the tournament. The way they played and fought made them one of the neutral fans’ favourite.
United seem to have a special eye for identifying talented players. They have done well in the league season after season because their local players have been more than capable.
This year too, they tend to introduce Athar Mahmood, Mubasir Khan and Zeeshan Zameer to the world.
If the former champions had the luck on their side, they would have given Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, the two most consistent teams of the PSL 7, a run for their money.
