PSL 7 Preview : Multan Sultans – The Sultans look to show their 2021 win wasn’t a fluke
Many thanks to [MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] for this write up.
The defending champions Multan Sultans are once again coached by the highly rated and respected Andy Flower who was with the side in 2021 and also recently coached St Lucia Kings to the finals of CPL 2021.
They are captained by the indomitable Mohammad Rizwan who has recently been named the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year. His credentials as captain are impeccable with wins in domestic competitions as well as in PSL 6 and will be expected.
The wicket-keeper batter has won every single T20 competition he has captained in last couple of years and given his red-hot form will surely be the mainstay of Multan’s batting. They also have highly rated spin bowling coach in Pakistan’s former leggy Mushtaq Ahmed and assistant coach in Abdul Rehman who coached KPK this year to 2 domestic titles so far.
Whilst Sultan’s were dealt a blow with the news that the fast-bowling coach Azhar Mahmood had moved onto Islamabad United to take on the Head Coach Role, Multan have been lucky to acquire the services of the vastly experienced Ottis Gibson.
In its initial few years what Multan Sultans seemed to be lacking was somewhat of an identity and which is crucial for building a fan-base and can bring success on the field too.
In that regard, Multan are lucky in having a leader in Mohammad Rizwan but equally fortunate to have found the charismatic Shahnawaz Dahani who could well define brand Multan Sultans for years to come.
Despite not being filled up with a lot of all-rounders, Multan Sultans have some solid specialist batsmen as well as bowlers making them a quality combination. Their latest recruitment David Willey can be a fine addition with the ability to possibly cover that No. 7 all-rounder position as well as providing them with a stable start with the new ball. Tim David is another solid recent recruitment who has already demonstrated his ability to hit the ball which he did with some effectiveness for Lahore Qalandars last year.
Key players: Mohammad Rizwan, Sohaib Maqsood, Riley Rossouw, David Willey, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tim David, Imran Tahir.
Strength: Solid leadership and backroom staff
Weakness: Only two full time spinners in the entire squad
Full Squad:
Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw, Sohaib Maqsood, Imran Tahir, Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dhani, Tim David, Odean Smith, Rumman Raees, Asif Afridi, Anwar Ali, Rovman Powell, Imran Khan Sr., Abbas Afridi, Amir Azmat, Blessing Muzarabani, Ihsanullah
Supplementary round: David Willey, Rizwan Hussain
Partial replacements: Johnson Charles, Dominic Drakes
