Lahore Qalandars
Lahore Qalandars is a Pakistani professional cricket franchise which plays in the Pakistan Super League. The home ground of the team is Gaddafi Stadium. It nominally represents the city of Lahore in the league. The team is owned by Qatar Lubricants Company Limited. The team is currently captained by Sohail Akhtar. The team is coached by Aaqib Javed, a former Pakistani cricketer. Lahore Qalandars is owned by Rana brothers.Lahore Qalandars was the second-most expensive franchise, and one of the few teams sold to an international company. The team finished at the last spot of the points table in each of the four seasons of PSL.
The brand ambassador of Lahore Qalandars is Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Fakhar Zaman is the leading run-scorer and Shaheen Shah Afridi is the leading wicket-taker for the side.
Franchise history
In 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced that the inaugural season of the Pakistan Super League would take place in February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates. On 3 December 2015, the PCB unveiled the owners of five city-based franchises. The Lahore franchise was sold to the Qatar Lubricants Company for US$25.1 million for a span of ten years, making it the second most expensive team of PSL.In 2016, under Players Development Program, the Lahore Qalandars franchise organised "Jazz Rising Stars" trials across eight Pakistani cities, to identify upcoming youth talent. Shortlisted players would travel to Australia and train with Sydney Thunder, while the top two performers would get the opportunity to play for the Qalandars. During the programme an ambidextrous fast bowler, Yasir Jan from Rawalpindi, was identified by former Pakistan fast bowler Aqib Javed.
2016 season
After drafting star players such as Chris Gayle, Umar Akmal, Dwayne Bravo, Azhar Ali and Yasir Shah in the initial player draft, Qalandars started the tournament with two consecutive losses against Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi. Their first victory came against Quetta Gladiators.The team won only two of their eight group stage matches, although they could still have qualified for the play-off section of the tournament if they had won their final group game against Islamabad United. A loss by five wickets saw Qalanders finish last in the first edition of the PSl. Despite playing only seven games, Umar Akmal was the highest run scorer of the tournament and won the 'Best Batsman' award for his 335 runs with four fifties. During the finals, Qalandars were given the "Spirit of The Game" award for showing the best sportsmanship throughout the tournament and "Fair play award".
2017 season
Lahore Qalandars icon player in first season of the PSL Chris Gayle was traded for Sohail Tanvir of the Karachi Kings during the off-season trade window. Sohaib Maqsood was also traded for Aamer Yamin of Peshawar Zalmi.In September 2016, the team also signed New Zealand's former captain Brendon McCullum as their new captain during the off-season.
During the 2017 PSL players draft, Lahore picked a number of new players, including bowlers Yasir Shah and Sunil Narine. The team retained players such as Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali and Dwayne Bravo. Later Dwayne Bravo and Anton Devcich were replaced with Jason Roy and James Franklin while Shaun Tait was replaced with Chris Green.
In their opening game of the 2017 season, Lahore Qalandars lost a closely fought match to the Quetta Gladiators. In pursuit of 137, they managed 128 before being bowled out in the penultimate over. The team bounced back in the next match by beating defending champions, Islamabad United. A partnership of 71 runs between Jason Roy and Umar Akmal set up the Qalandar's chase of 159 before a quick cameo of 26 by Sunil Narine finished the game. However, in the following game, against Peshawar Zalmi, the Qalandars collapsed to 59 all-out inside 11 overs - the second shortest innings in T20 cricket history. But, Yasir Shah took 4 wickets for 7 runs in the defense to almost take his team to victory before the Zalmis prevailed by 3-wickets.
As the tournament progressed to Sharjah, the Qalandars registered their second win on the trot. That too against arch-rivals, Karachi Kings. The match was hard-fought between the two sides before the Qalandars prevailed by 7 runs in the final over. Fakhar Zaman, who was also adjudged man-of-the-match, set up his team's target of 180 through his quick-fire innings of 56. But in the next game, against Quetta Gladiators, the Qalandars were unable to defend a target of 201 despite being in control for most of the match. They allowed 78 runs to be leaked from the last 3.5 overs to end up on the losing side. However, following this loss, the Qalandars managed to win against Islamabad United by 1-wicket in a tense contest that saw them chase 146 runs in 19.3 overs. Umar Akmal anchored his team's innings by scoring 66 off 42 balls before Grant Elliott finished the chase with a six over midwicket.
As the tournament shifted back to Dubai, the Qalandars suffered back to back defeats against Peshawar Zalmi and arch-rivals, Karachi Kings. Against the Zalmis, the team couldn't chase down 167 after a drastic collapse from 38-1 to 43-6 and fell short by 17 runs. Following this, the Qalandars lost a must-win game against the Kings by 5-wickets. After putting up a respectable target of 156 on board, the team leaked 14-runs from the final over - including sixes on the last two balls to end up on the losing side. These two loses meant that the Qalandars finished at the bottom of the table after the league stage and were, in return, knocked out from the play-off proceedings for the second consecutive year.
2018 season
The Qalandars lost the first three games of the season, against Multan Sultans, Quetta Gladiators and, arch-rivals, Karachi Kings respectively - suffering major batting collapses in each. In the match against the Sultans, they went from 132-4 to 136 all-out, thus falling short in their chase of 180 by 43 runs. While against the Gladiators, they could not build on the excellent start they got. They were 60-2 in the fifth over but could only manage 59 runs in the remaining 15 overs to finish at 119-9. In reply, the Gladiator won by 9 wickets. In the match against the Kings, Qalandars were set a hefty target of 160 runs. They got off to a great start and were 68 for 1 in 6 overs before losing several wickets in quick succession during the middle overs to end up 27 runs short.As the league stage shifted to Sharjah, the team's fortunes did not change and they lost a closely fought match to Islamabad United. In pursuit of a below-par target of 122 runs, the Qalandars were on course for an easy win at 77-2 in the 12th over, before losing wickets in quick succession to end up at 115-9. A penultimate ball six from debutant, Salman Irshad, leveled the scores before the team got all-out the next ball, instigating a Super Over. Batting first in the one-over eliminator, the Qalandars set a target of 16 runs, which the United achieved via a last-ball six. The Qalanders continued with their losing streak in the next game against Peshawar Zalmi. Batting first, the Qalanders once again suffered a batting collapse and went from 56-0 to 100 all-out. In reply, the Zalmis made the target with all 10 wickets intact - the first such instance in PSL's history. This loss effectively ended Lahore's chances for a playoff berth, making them the first team to be eliminated from the second stage of the tournament.
In July 2018, they were one of the six teams invited to play in the first edition of the Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy, scheduled to start in October 2018. On October 6, 2018 they won the tournament by beating Titans in the final.
2019 season
The Lahore Qalandars cricket team is one of six teams that competed in the 2019 Pakistan Super League, representing Lahore.Originally the Qalandars were to be captained by Mohammad Hafeez, but due to an injury, he was unable to participate. AB De Villiers captained two matches while Fakhar Zaman led the side in six matches. They finished sixth in the season after winning three of their ten matches, and as a result, were eliminated in the group stage for the fourth consecutive year. Lahore Qalandars Brand Ambassador Shaheen Shah Afridi is a renowned bowler.
2020 season
In the 2020 season, Lahore Qalandars were among the six teams to participate in the 2020 Pakistan Super League.The Qalandars were captained by Sohail Akhtar. In their first match against the Multan Sultans, they went off to a solid start, Chris Lynn and Fakhar Zaman made an opening partnership of 59 in 4 overs. After that, the team collapsed and scored a total of 138-8. Multan in reply chased the target in 16.1 overs which led Lahore to lose their opening game. In their second match, they batted well and then with the balling dragged the match to the last over. Islamabad United needed 9 to win of the final over with one wicket in hand and the irresponsible decision of calling Usman Khan led them to lose and Musa Khan become a Islamabad hero. In the third match, it was reduced to 12 overs due to rain delay. Dilbar Hussain bowled well, in the end Lahore lost by 12 runs. Lucked turned around when they won against Quetta Gladiators in their fourth match, Ben Dunk scored a terrific 93* with 11 sixes, making a record for the most sixes in an innings in PSL and was named Man-of-the-match. Lahore were humiliated by Islamabad United in their home ground losing by 71 runs. In their sixth match, the spinners humiliated Quetta Gladiators, taking 9 wickets while conceding 98 runs and winning the match by 8 wickets. Ben Dunk again made a record for most sixes in an innings with 13 sixes and an unbeaten 99* helping them chase down a huge target of 188 with ease. After consecutively losing to the Peshawar Zalmi in the last seasons, this time lahore won by 5 wickets 50's from both Fakhar Zaman and Chris Lynn with David Wiese finishing it off in style with a six while chasing down a monstrous target of 188 and winning with ease in the end. In their second last match of the group stage against Karachi Kings, they miserably lost with giving a target of 150 and failing to take a wicket while bowling. Their last match was a must win to qualify for the semis, it was against Multan Sultans. Again they were given to chase 188. The openers Fakhar Zaman
and Chris Lynn made a partnership of 100, then Fakhar got out. Chris Lynn led his team to the semis posting the first ever century for a Lahore Qalandars and leading them to the first ever semis. The semifinal is scheduled against Karachi which is postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and will take place soon.
Team identity
The Lahore franchise was launched on 12 December 2015 by owner Fawad Rana. The "Q" in the Qalandars was linked to both represent both Qatar and QALCO and Rana added that the name was chosen to highlight the Sufi culture of Lahore – "Qalandar" is a common term used in Pakistan to describe Sufi mystics or saints whose shrines attract millions of devotees and tourists. The team's logo features a Sufi performing the famous Sufi whirling with three stumps to his right and a cricket ball as the base, and is meant to represent the Sufi culture of the regionThe Qalandars' kit colors in first season was red and black Qalandars launched new kits ahead of second season, with the red turning green at a grand musical event.
Mobilink was the team's first shirt sponsor and the title sponsor. Alkaram, a textile mill situated in Karachi, was announced as another sponsor and the media partner of the team is Geo Tv. Royal Palm is the team's hospitality partner.
The anthem of the team in 2016 season was "Dama Dam Mast" released in two versions; one by Asrar and other by Nabeel Shaukat Ali.
The official song for 2017 season "Dama Dam Mast Lahore Qalandars" was sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali.
Famous Film star Shaan is team's brand ambassador for 2017 season.
| Year | Kit manufacturer | Front branding | Back branding | Chest branding | Sleeve branding |
| 2016 | Millat Sports | Jazz | Al-Karam Textiles | Geo News | , Mobilink |
| 2017 | Millat Sports | Jazz | Al-Karam Textiles | Geo News | , Huawei, Royal Palm |
| 2018 | Millat Sports | Ecostar | Gree | Geo News | Bank of Punjab, ZXMCO, Royal Palm |
| 2019 | Millat Sports | Ecostar | Mughal Steel | Geo News | , Lays |
| 2020 | Millat Sports | Ecostar | Hashmi Ispaghol | Geo News | Mughal Steel |
Current squad
Lahore Qalandars- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
- denotes a player who is currently unavailable for selection.
- denotes a player who is unavailable for rest of the season
Management and coaching staff
| Name | Position |
 Fawad Rana | Owner |
| Sameen Rana | COO & Manager |
| Atif Rana | CEO |
 Aaqib Javed | Head Coach |
| Mansoor Rana | Batting coach |
| Waqas Ahmed | Bowling coach |
| Shahzad Butt | Fielding Coach |
| Moeen Nadeem | Trainer |
 Derek Sedgman | Masseur |
| Brett Harrop | Physiotherapist |
| Nabeel Edgar Pace | Analyst |
Captains
| No. | Nat. | Player | From | To | |||||||
| 1 | | Azhar Ali | 2016 | 2016 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| 2 |  | Dwayne Bravo | 2016 | 2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00.00 |
| 3 |  | Brendon McCullum | 2017 | 2018 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33.33 |
| 4 | | Mohammad Hafeez | 2019 | 2019 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 5 |  | AB de Villiers | 2019 | 2019 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| 6 | | Fakhar Zaman | 2019 | 2019 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| 7 | | Sohail Akhtar | 2020 | Present | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
Source: , Last updated: 15 March 2020
Result summary
Overall result in PSL
Source: , Last updated: 15 March 2020Head-to-head record
| Opposition | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tie&W | Tie&L | NR | % |
| Islamabad United | 2016–present | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Karachi Kings | 2016–present | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Multan Sultans | 2018–present | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 2016–present | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 2016–present | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
Source: , Last updated: 15 March 2020
Statistics
Most runs
Source: , Last updated: 4 March 2019Most wickets
Source: , Last Updated: 4 March 2020Awards and achievements
; 2016 Pakistan Super League League- Umar Akmal declared best batsman of the Pakistan Super league 2016 with 335 runs in 7 matches
- Lahore Qalandars received tournament's Spirit of Cricket award
- Achieved second highest score of the tournament's first edition with 201 runs in 20 overs
- Achieved second highest score of the tournament's second edition with 200 runs in 20 overs
- Participated in Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy 2018 and won trophy by beating Titans in final