PSL 2017 Schedule, Squads of all teams and prize money

Lahore Qalandars

Being an inspirational skipper, McCullum will look to take the team to the finals

Lahore Qalandars, who finished at the bottom of the table in the 2016 edition, will go into the tournament as the underdogs. They don’t look strong on paper, however, they do have the ability to surprise oppositions every now and then.

They made 14 changes to their squad and have released the likes Chris Gayle, and middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood.

In spite of Gayle’s absence, their top-order looks solid with the presence of skipper Brendon McCullum, who took over the captaincy reins from Azhar Ali, and explosive England opener Jason Roy. A lot depends on how these two bat, as their middle-order containing Umar Akmal, Grant Elliot, James Franklin and Cameron Delport looks fragile.

In the bowling front, Chris Gayle’s replacement, Sohail Tanvir, and Yasir Shah are expected to share the wicket-taking burden. Being an inspirational skipper, McCullum will look to take the team to the finals.

Squad:

Local players: Saif Badar, Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Bilawal Bhatti, Usman Qadir, Sohail Tanvir, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Rizwan, Umar Akmal, Ghulam Mudassar, Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Irfan.

Overseas players: Brendon McCullum (captain), Sunil Narine, Grant Elliot, James Franklin, Anton Devcich, Cameron Delport, Jason Roy, Chris Green.