Whatever happened to the Lahore Badshahs lately? Coming into the ICL season, this motley of cricket players from Pakistan who make up the Badshahs were pretty much undefeated throughout the regular Twenty20 season and were marked as clear favorites to lift the ICL title.
A team comprised of some world-class veterans such as Inzamam ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Azhar Mahmood and Imran Nazir among others first failed to make it through to the ICL Twenty20 title, losing both games to the eventual winners, the Hyderabad Heroes.
Following that, and to compound more misery on their growing legion of fans, they started with a bang in the ICL 20’s World Series playoffs, only to falter and whimper away all title hopes by losing to the World XI the other evening.
Coached by another ex-Test player and ex-captain Moin Khan, the Badshahs showed no class or elegance in their selection of shots or their work on the field. Batsman after batsman succumbed more to a rash shot than to any extraordinary bowling on the part of the World XI.
Prior to that game, they lost to the Indian XI by 32 runs, faltering against a team not boasting an array of internationally recognized players. But the Indians showed intent on the field and won deservedly. With a smattering of young players, the more experienced Badshahs were expected to reach the finals and hoist the trophies with ease. So had the easy wins during the regular season helped pushed the Badhsahs into over-confidence and a sense of invincibility? Or is the advancing age of most of their recognized players finally catching up with them? Their fans would definitely like to know.
