PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE PREVIEW – QUETTA GLADIATORS: The most consistent franchise in PSL history finally broke its trophy drought in 2019, but can Sarfraz Ahmed lead the side to back-to-back crowns?
Coach: Moin Khan
Captain: Sarfraz Ahmed
Last time: Champions (second in group)
Previous best: Champions in 2019
Mohammad Hasnain: With the spotlight likely to fall heavily upon Naseem Shah as the 17-year-old sensation makes his tournament debut fresh off a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul in his past two Tests, another prodigious teenage speedster could very easily go under the radar alongside him in the Gladiators' lineup.
At the age of 18, Mohammad Hasnain used last year's campaign to catapult himself towards Pakistan's World Cup plans, taking 12 wickets in only seven appearances, bowling at upwards of 93mph, and being named player of the match as his Quetta side clinched the tournament title in Karachi in March.
Hyderabad-born Hasnain then first pulled on a Pakistan jersey against Australia all of seven days later, and further caps have since followed against England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Having played almost twice as many T20 games as all other formats combined, including a brief CPL stint with Trinbago Knight Riders late last year, fans should certainly keep an eye out for him with a T20 World Cup trip on the line.
Shane Watson: A stalwart fixture in the PSL since its inception, Australia veteran Watson is one of just four players to have tallied over 1,000 runs across the league's four-year history and leads his nearest overseas competitor Luke Ronchi by a massive 360 runs.
After a pair of middling campaigns with Islamabad United, Watson has averaged just shy of 40 since joining the Quetta franchise in 2018 and shone in particular during their long-awaited title run last year. Aged 37, his tally of 430 runs (at a strike rate of 143.81) comfortably led the league and included four player of the match trophies, as well as the final player of the tournament gong.
Though almost four years have passed since his last appearance in green and gold, the Queenslander is showing no signs of slowing down, at least with the bat in hand. The last 12 months have seen him top-scoring in the IPL final, dismissed for 80 with just four runs needed and two balls remaining, and more recently finish second only to compatriot Chris Lynn in runs as he captained Deccan Gladiators to the Abu Dhabi T10 final.
Shane Watson was player of the tournament in 2019's PSL
Jason Roy: The England opener comes back to the Gladiators after a fleeting two-match cameo in 2018, and fans will be hopeful he can extend his prolific form from international T20 action into his third PSL trip.
Roy's blistering 70 from 38 balls against South Africa in East London last week was his third consecutive 65-plus score for England in the short format – and, remarkably, it came at the most pedestrian strike rate of the lot.
While the World Cup winner is yet to debut on Pakistan soil, a five-game jaunt with Lahore Qalandars in 2017 bodes well, where he finished top of the averages for the bottom-placed franchise and just four runs shy of being its leading scorer despite having three games fewer than teammates like Brendon McCullum and Fakhar Zaman.
The Gladiators enter this tournament as defending champions and holders of the best winning percentage in PSL history (61.9 per cent), with only Peshawar Zalmi rivalling their consistency in reaching three tournament finals in four editions.
As such, up top little changes. Sarfraz Ahmed may have been ousted from the national captaincy but he hangs onto his duties in Quetta, while former Test wicketkeeping predecessor Moin Khan stays put in the coaching role he has held since the very beginning.
When that pedigree is coupled with Viv Richards as a mentor and batting coach, as well as a strong cores pace threats, it would be foolish to bet against the franchise picking up right where they left off.
Quetta will be one overseas player down for much of the group phase, with Keemo Paul set to arrive on March 7 after West Indies responsibilities are complete.
In the meantime, Roy and Watson will be joined at the franchise by PSL debutant Ben Cutting, Australian veteran spinner Fawad Ahmed, and the injury-prone but razor-sharp sometime England quick Tymal Mills.
It is a line-up that does not come close to that boasted by the Gladiators last year – though Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine featured in just six matches between them, their wickets and illustrious short-form records cannot easily be replaced, and a lot of their load will fall on youngsters Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain.
Teenage quick Mohammad Hasnain is likely to lead the Quetta attack
Sarfraz Ahmed (c/wk), Fawad Ahmed (AUS), Umar Akmal, Ahsan Ali, Ben Cutting (AUS), Mohammad Hasnain, Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan, Sohail Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Zahid Mehmood (until March 7), Tymal Mills (ENG), Abdul Nasir, Mohammad Nawaz, Keemo Paul (WI, from March 7), Jason Roy (ENG), Naseem Shah, Ahmed Shehzad, Shane Watson (AUS)
February 20: Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United (Karachi)
February 22: Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi (Karachi)
February 23: Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators (Karachi)
February 27: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators (Rawalpindi)
February 29: Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators (Multan)
March 3: Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars (Lahore)
March 5: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators (Rawalpindi)
March 7: Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators (Lahore)
March 11: Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans (Lahore)
March 15: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings (Karachi)
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