Pakistan Super League 8: Team Analysis - Islamabad United

image-ldr5kqvzIslamabad United (Source: Twitter)

The eighth season of the Pakistan Super League is just a week away. Six teams will once again be competing to be the best in Pakistan. 

Before the tournament starts we at OneCricket will be looking to give a deeper insight into the participating teams. We will take an analytical dive into each team and try to find out their strengths and weaknesses. 

In this article, we will be taking a look at the team that has the title the most number of times, Islamabad United. They have been in the finals two times and have managed to be the champions both times. 


image-ldrfiyqf(Source: OneCricket)

This year also they will look to mount a tough challenge for the trophy. But how successful will they be? To get an answer to the question, let us delve into the squad and take a look. 

Islamabad Squad

Shadab Khan (Captain), Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abrer Ahmed, Shoaib Maqsood, Rumman Raees, Zeeshan Zameer, Hassan Nawaz, Moeen Ali, Mubasir Khan, Gus Atkinson, Tymal Mills

Now if we dissect the team and try to find out the resource that they have got then we get: 

image-ldreldid(Source: OneCricket)

So, after having a general look at the squad, now let us move on and try to take an analytical dive into it. 

Strengths

  1. Strong top-order: The squad boasts off players like Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali and Rahamanullah Gurbaz. The accumulation of such players makes the top-order of Islamabad very strong. All of these players have the ability to get the team off to a flying start and leave an impact early in the match.
  2. Variety in the bowling department: The bowling department of the team consists of bowlers of various types. They have pacers and spinners of all sorts in their disposal. This will allow the team great dynamism and flexibility to select and field a final eleven suitable to the conditions that they are playing in . 

Weaknesses

  1.  Feeble Middle Order: The batting line up of the Islamabad United looks a bit top heavy. They have too many openers to slot in, but the middle-order lacks the depth and solidity. After seeing the squad it seems like the prime bets for the team in the middle-order would be Shadab Khan, Asif Ali and Shoaib Maqsood. This will work out in cases where they will need quick runs, but the day the top-order crumbles, they will have to depend on some inexperienced faces to provide them stability. 

Opportunities

  1. Conditions suiting their bowling: They have a bowling line-up which can adapt to the conditions available for the tournament. The dynamism and the flexibility of the bowling attack will allow them the opportunity to mount a challenge for their third title.

Threat

  1. Possible batting collapse: As we have already said that the top order looks well sorted but the middle-order does not look all that settled. Although they have some big hitters in the middle, there is an absence of players who can stabilise the innings once and if the top order falls quickly. So, during the course of the tournament we might see some matches where the Islamabad United batting order gets bundled out quickly. 

image-ldrefsdc(Source: OneCricket)


Prediction: Though the team has some short comings, overall it looks like a sorted united. They have the experience of making it big. But this time around the best they can do is qualify for the final four, but there are less probabilities of that and they might as well get eliminated from the group stage. 

Also Read: Team Analysis for the Women's T20I World Cup, 2023: Pakistan