The Lahore Qalandars is a franchise cricket team that represents Lahore in the Pakistan Super League. They are one of the five teams that had a competition in the 2017 Pakistan Super League. The team was captained by Brendon McCullum, and they won three matches from their eight matches in the PSL 2017. They stand on fifth position and as a result they were eliminated in group stage.
Squad 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.http://tribune.com.pk/story/1184862/psl-2017-sangakkara-released-quetta-gayle-traded-lahore/Express Tribune, 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016. Sohaib Maqsood was also traded for Aamer Yamin of Peshawar Zalmi.http://socialsports360.com/trading-in-psl/ Social Sports 360, 6 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016. In September 2016, the team signed New Zealand's former captain Brendon McCullum as their new captain.http://dailytimes.com.pk/sports/20-Sep-16/qalandars-sign-mccullum-as-new-captain/Daily times, 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
During the 2017 PSL players draft, Lahore picked a number of new players, including bowlers Yasir Shah and Sunil Narine. Later Dwayne Bravo and Anton Devcich were replaced with Jason Roy and James Franklin while Shaun Tait was replaced with Chris Green.
Name Nationality Batting style Bowling style Year signed NotesSaif Badar Right-handed Legbreak 2017Azhar Ali Right-handed Legbreak 2016 Brendon McCullum Right-handed Right-arm medium2017Overseas/CaptainUmar Akmal Right-handed Right-arm off-spin2016Jason Roy Right-handed Right-arm medium2017OverseasCameron Delport Left-handed Right-arm medium 2016 OverseasFakhar Zaman Left-handed Left-arm orthodox spin 2017All-rounders Bilawal Bhatti Right-handed Right-arm fast 2017Usman Qadir Left-handed Leg-break 2017James Franklin Left-handed Left-arm medium-fast 2017 OverseasSohail Tanvir Left-handed Left-arm medium-fast 2017Aamer Yamin Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast 2017Grant Elliott Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium2017Overseas Wicket-keepersMohammad Rizwan Right-handed 2016 BowlersGhulam Mudassar Right-handed Left-arm fast-medium2017Chris Green Right-handed Right-arm off-break2017OverseasSunil Narine Left-handed Right-arm off-spin2017OverseasYasir Shah Right-handed Leg-spin 2017Zafar Gohar Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2016Mohammad Irfan Right-handed Right-arm fast 2017
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Pakistan Super League In their opening game of the 2017 season, Lahore Qalandars lost a closely fought match to the Quetta Gladiators. In pursuit of 137, they managed 128 before being bowled out in the penultimate over. The team bounced back in the next match by beating defending champions, Islamabad United. A partnership of 71 runs between Jason Roy and Umar Akmal set up the Qalandar's chase of 159 before a quick cameo of 26(12) by Sunil Narine finished the game. However, in the following game, against Peshawar Zalmi, the Qalandars collapsed to 59 all-out inside 11 overs – the second shortest innings in T20 cricket history. But, Yasir Shah took 4 wickets for 7 runs in the defense to almost take his team to victory before the Zalmis prevailed by 3-wickets.
As the tournament progressed to Sharjah, the Qalandars registered their second win on the trot. That too against arch-rivals, Karachi Kings. The match was hard-fought between the two teams before the Qalandars prevailed by 7 runs in the final over. Fakhar Zaman, who was also adjudged man-of-the-match, set up his team's target of 180 through his quick-fire innings of 56(36). But in the next game, against Quetta Gladiators, the Qalandars were unable to defend a target of 201 despite being in control for most of the match. They allowed 78 runs to be leaked from the last 3.5 overs to end up on the losing team. However, following this loss, the Qalandars won against Islamabad United by 1-wicket in a tense contest that saw them chase 146 runs in 19.3 overs. Umar Akmal anchored his team's innings by scoring 66 off 42 balls before Grant Elliott finished the chase with a six over midwicket.
As the tournament shifted back to Dubai, the Qalandars suffered back to back defeats against Peshawar Zalmi and arch-rivals, Karachi Kings. Against the Zalmis, the team couldn't chase down 167 after a drastic collapse from 38–1 to 43–6 and fell short by 17 runs. Following this, the Qalandars lost a must-win game against the Kings by 5-wickets. After putting up a respectable target of 156 on board, the team leaked 14-runs from the final over – including sixes on the last two balls to end up on the losing team. These two loses meant that the Qalandars finished at the bottom of the table after the league stage and were, in return, knocked out from the play-off proceedings for the second consecutive year.
Season standings Lahore Qalandars finished fifth in the points table of 2017 Pakistan Super League.
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