The 2022 season of the Pakistan Super League is halfway done. With the Karachi leg done, the home team, Karachi Kings, are on their last leg in this edition of PSL, losing all five of their games so far.
Let’s look at how the season has been for Karachi Kings in 2022.
Season so far
Disappointing would be an understatement for Karachi Kings’ campaign this season. It was expected that Karachi Kings would be the top contender for the PSL 2022 title after the successful year of Babar Azam in 2021 as a captain in the T20s. But alas, the start of the year 2022 has been horrific for him and Karachi Kings.
The start of their campaign for this season was disenchanting, and it sadly shaped their journey ahead. Unfortunately, how not to utilize the advantage of playing at home was not so greatly displayed by the team, and it looks like the away games will follow the same suit.
The batters have not been in sublime form, and the bowlers haven’t justified their roles either. With two sub-125 totals in five innings and only 19 wickets taken out of 50, there was only one result waiting for them after such performances.
The team has been disappointing in every field. Their last defeat against Islamabad United by 42 runs continued their sorry state.
How is Babar faring?
Babar has notched three 30+ scores in the five games, including an unbeaten 90 runs against Peshawar Zalmi. A semi-par performance so far by his standards, but unfortunately, he is one of the only standoutS from his team, along with Mohammad Nabi at times with the ball.
The criticism of Babar’s slow starts and slow strike rate in T20s from last year has mainly been highlighted this time, and it has started affecting his game. While the strike-rotation ability has moved the game for his team, a solid partner to provide support is primarily the concern for him and his team.
Issues mounting
And to add more worries to captain Babar Azam, his two prime bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Ilyas, are ruled out of this PSL season. While Ilyas was ineffective for most of this season, his unavailability will put a hole in the bowling plans for future games.
Moving forward
The PSL is halfway through, and Karachi Kings have one foot out of the competition. The team has not looked spirited and has carried gloomy shoulders around. It won’t be farfetched if they haven’t already started planning for next year’s campaign.