Team: Karachi Kings
City: Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Ground: National Stadium
Number of Titles: 1 (2020)
Who Are Karachi Kings?
Karachi Kings are one of the Pakistan Super League franchises and they have been in operation since 2015. Salman Iqbal is the owner of a club who have been competing since the 2016 PSL season, with the franchise having been sold to the ARY Media Group for US$26 million in December 2015.
This transaction made Karachi Kings the most expensive franchise out of any in the Pakistan Super League, with the team playing in a distinctive red, blue and white kit. This is a team who have had a succession of different captains along the way, with Shoaib Malik and Kumar Sangakkara being in charge.
However, Imad Wasim has presided over the most Kings matches as captain, with the Pakistan cricketer having taken charge during forty-one games. There were twenty victories and seventeen defeats along the way.
The PSL History of Karachi Kings
Until 2022, the Karachi Kings had the impressive record of qualifying for the play-offs of the Pakistan Super League on each occasion. The 2016 campaign wasn’t particularly impressive as far as results were concerned on the pitch, although a fourth-placed finish out of five meant that they took their place in the play-offs before being comfortably beaten by Islamabad United.
The 2017 PSL saw an improved Kings team win four of their eight matches during the regular season, with Karachi finishing third in the standings. They clashed with fourth-placed Islamabad United and overcame them by forty-four runs although they were no match for Peshawar Zalmi and consequently lost by twenty-four runs.
The Kings continued to knock on the door in the 2018 Pakistan Super League season and they were able to finish second in the regular standings that year. However, they came up against a fearsome Islamabad United and were thrashed by eight wickets before failing to recover in time against Peshawar and they also lost that game.
In 2019, Karachi continued their record of reaching the play-offs when finishing fourth out of six teams although they came up against nemesis Islamabad and lost by four wickets. However, 2020 was the year when the Kings would cast off their bridesmaid tag.
After finishing second behind Multan Sultans in the regular table, Karachi were able to beat the same opponents in a Super Over to qualify for the final. They then clashed with Lahore Qalanders who had come through two play-off rounds and it was a victory for the Kings by five wickets to secure their first ever maiden title.
Who Holds the Karachi Kings Records?
Babar Azam is the record run scorer for the Karachi Kings and he has set a demanding total for anyone who wants to exceed that number. During the course of fifty-four innings, the batsman has managed to amass 2055 runs and his average of 44.67 is clearly a standout figure.
Colin Ingram and Ravi Bopara are players from overseas who have made an impact, while Mohammad Amir is the leading wicket taker and the homegrown bowler managed to land 54 wickets from 2016 onwards which means he has pride of place at the top of the standings.
