‘Lots to reflect and learn’ – Karachi Kings skipper Babar Azam vows to comeback stronger after horrendous campaign in PSL 2022

Saying Karachi Kings had a hard time in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 would be an understatement as hardly anything went well for the side. The 2020 season champions won just one of their 10 games and ended the league stage at the last position. Notably, Pakistan’s national team captain and star batter Babar Azam had replaced Imad Wasim as Karachi’s skipper ahead of the competition.

While expectations were sky-high from the talismanic cricketer, he couldn’t help his side much. Although Babar did play some fine knocks, the failure of other players cost the team big time. Meanwhile, Karachi’s dismal campaign this season ended on Sunday (February 20) as they suffered a 23-run defeat against Quetta Gladiators in their last league-stage game.

We did not hold up our end: Babar Azam

Babar took to Twitter after the game and acknowledged the dismal performance of his team. He also vowed to come back stronger next season alongside thanking fans for the constant support. “We did not hold up our end. Lots to reflect, learn & improve from this entire experience of #PSL7. In sha Allah, we will come back stronger. Also, quite grateful to all the fans for their immense support and belief. #KarachiKings,” tweeted Azam.

Coming to the proceedings of Karachi’s last game, Quetta Gladiators posted 166/4 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to a blistering 82 from opener Jason Roy. The Karachi-based side looked in the hunt for the best part with openers Babar Azam and Joe Clarke adding 87 runs for the first wicket. While the latter went onto score 52, the skipper perished after scoring 36 off 34 deliveries.

However, the rest of the line-up couldn’t do much as Khurram Shahzad ran through the batting order. The right-arm pacer scalped four wickets as the Kings were restricted to 143/8, losing the contest by 23 runs. Azam, after the game, admitted his side couldn’t do well this season but also acknowledged injuries to multiple players had a big hand in their poor show.

“It was an unfortunate season for us, the fans will be disappointed with it, but we tried hard. We had a lot of injuries in our team, and that didn’t help us,” said Azam in the post-match conversation.