Analysis: 4 reasons why the Karachi Kings are failing in PSL 2022

The 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions, Karachi Kings, have put up a lacklustre performance in the ongoing tournament, which wasn't expected of them, especially after a change of leadership.

Babar Azam, who led Pakistan to a historic win against India in last year's T20 World Cup, is now the skipper of the Kings after the management decided to take away charge from Imad Wasim.

However, the Kings have been failing miserably to defend their totals in the last matches played at the National Stadium in Karachi.

They have lost by seven wickets to Multan Sultan, six wickets to Lahore Qalandars, and eight wickets to Quetta Gladiators — and it seems like this streak might continue.

Here are four reasons why we think they are failing:

Excessive reliance on top-order

The Kings seem to rely substantially on the top order — Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam — to get runs on the board as none of the batters after them seem to perform up to the mark.

Babar Azam's attempt to maintain his 'brand'

The skipper is trying to sustain his "brand identity" of being the man to get runs on the board for the team when it needs them the most, just like he does in international cricket.

Because of that, the 27-year-old is not scoring in the powerplay — when he should be in a hard-hitting mode — and aims at playing a longer inning as compared to other batters.

Middle-order failure

Due to too much reliance on Babar and Sharjeel and their failure to get enough scores to decrease the pressure on the batters that follow, the Karachi Kings' middle order is collapsing constantly.

None of the players in the middle order have been able to add 30 runs to the total score individually, thus, leaving the team handicapped after the dismissal of Babar and Sharjeel.

Absence of Mohammad Amir

Although the pacer has not been exceptional lately, his absence is being felt in the squad. Amir is among the top wicket-takers of the tournament, but unfortunately for the Kings, he will not be partaking in fixtures for a while due to an injury he suffered hours before the first match of the tournament.