Team: Islamabad United
City: Islamabad
Ground: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Number of Titles: 2 (2016 and 2018)
Who Are Islamabad United?
At the time of writing, Islamabad United are the most successful team in the history of the Pakistan Super League. Originally bought by Ali Naqvi and Amna Naqvi who represent Leonine Global Sports, they have achieved some great success in the PSL and especially during the early years of the competition.
The team’s nickname are IU and they are one of the best supported Pakistan Super League clubs, with the club having been the inaugural champions of the tournament in 2016 and they were able to double their tally of titles in 2018.
Islamabad United play their home matches at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and they play cricket in a red and white strip or alternatively a pink and white strip. Their logo features a lion and they’ve had a spate of players representing them.
The PSL History of Islamabad United
Islamabad United claimed the first ever Pakistan Super League title, with the Lions having finished third in the regular standings in 2016 when winning four and losing four of their initial eight matches. They then thrashed Karachi Kings by nine wickets before overcoming Peshawar Zalmi by 50 runs and that was followed by a six wicket success against Quetta Gladiators on 23 February.
The 2017 season saw a wide open competition where no team were particularly outstanding during the normal campaign, although Islamabad then played Karachi in the play-offs and were promptly beaten. However, you could argue that the 2018 United team were the greatest to ever compete in the Pakistan Super League.
During that season, Islamabad finished top of the overall standings after winning seven of their ten encounters. They then clashed with Karachi and registered an amazing eight wicket victory in Dubai. This put the team directly in the final and they made no mistake against Peshawar Zalmi when triumphing by three wickets.
Since then, there have been no further successes, with the 2019 bid for a hat-trick of Pakistan Super League successes foiled after a win over Karachi Kings in the play-offs was followed by a defeat against top-ranked Peshawar.
The 2020 season saw the team finish rock bottom after just three wins, while the 2021 campaign saw them bounce back to life and win an incredible eight of ten games, although United were then stunned by Multan Sultans in the play-offs and then lost again to Peshawar Zalmi. In 2021, Islamabad reached the play-offs only to end up losing to eventual champions Lahore Qalanders.
Who Holds the Islamabad United Records?
There have been some impressive performers for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League and Luke Ronchi achieved legendary status during his time with the club between 2018-2020. During the 31 innings played, the New Zealand and Australia international was able to score an incredible 1020 runs along the way.
The best run scorer from Pakistan is Asif Ali who has been playing for Islamabad from the very start of their formation. 879 runs were scored in forty-six innings, with Hussain Talat third in the run scorer standings at the time of writing.
Bowling-wise, Faheem Ashraf has been able to take 55 wickets in his 39 matches from 2018 onwards. He is closely followed in the order by Shadab Khan and Mohammad Sami.
