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Two-time defending champions Lahore Qalandars will start their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 campaign against Islamabad United on Saturday at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Qalandars have reached the PSL finals thrice in the last four seasons, recording a championship win in the previous two editions.
One of the major reasons behind Lahore Qalandars' success has been the star-studded squad of the franchise. Big names like Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan, Sikandar Raza, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, Harry Brook and Liam Dawson were part of the Lahore squad last season.
This year, the team management has retained a majority of the players from the squad that won the Pakistan Super League last year. In this article now, we will look at the three reasons why the Lahore Qalandars can become the champions in PSL 2024 as well.
#1 Lahore Qalandars have 3 world-class all-rounders in their PSL 2024 squad
All-rounders hold the key to success for any team in the T20 format. The Lahore Qalandars have retained their two overseas all-rounders, David Wiese and Sikandar Raza, for this season.
The Qalandars also have captain Shaheen Afridi, who played some excellent knocks in the recent PSL seasons. This trio of Afridi, Wiese and Raza can help the Qalandars dominate the upcoming PSL season. All three are big hitters of the ball, know how to take wickets even on flat tracks and have a ton of experience of playing T20 leagues.
If the trio of Afridi, Wiese and Raza fires all cylinders in PSL 2024, no team will be able to stop the Qalandars from becoming the first team to win the Pakistan Super League thrice.
#2 Shaheen Afridi's leadership skills
Shaheen Afridi has shown brilliant leadership skills in the Pakistan Super League. His top-quality captaincy has helped him become the skipper of the Pakistan T20I team as well.
At times, fans have noticed that a particular captain ends up winning multiple championships in T20 leagues when he becomes comfortable as a team's skipper. Afridi knows how to use his resources well, and considering the way he marshaled his troops last season, Lahore Qalandars are the top favorites to win the PSL 2024 trophy.
#3 Big match-winners in batting and bowling department
Lahore Qalandars have three game-changers in the batting unit. Fakhar Zaman amassed more than 400 runs last PSL season, while Daniel Lawrence and Abdullah Shafique have done well in the shortest format of the game.
In the bowling department, Shaheen Afridi will have the backing of express pacers Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan. The absence of Rashid Khan will hurt the team, but the Lahore team has left-arm wrist-spinner Syed Faridoun, all-rounder Sikandar Raza and left-arm spinner Kamran Ghulam in their spin unit.
All in all, the Qalandars have a squad capable of winning the PSL 2024 championship. Their first match of the new season will take place against Islamabad United tonight at 8:30 pm IST. It will be interesting to see how the Qalandars perform in the season opener on their home turf.
