The 2024 edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) came to an end on Sunday (July 21), as Jaffna Kings won the title in style. Here's how the various Pakistan players performed in the league.
Pakistan players in Kandy Falcons
Mohammad Haris: 10 matches, 188 runs
Mohammad Haris' time in Pakistan colours has been limited, despite several high-impact innings in franchise tournaments. Batting at No.3 for Kandy, he racked up 188 runs at a strike rate of 155, a respectable record even considering the general high-scoring nature of the tournament.
Haris cracked a 32-ball 56 against Colombo Strikers, his high score of the season. Cameos of 30 (13) and 24 (13) against Jaffna Kings and Dambulla Sixers were also highlights of his campaign, as was a ridiculous back-of-the-bat six against Jaffna in Qualifier 2.
Mohammad Hasnain: 5 matches, 7 wickets
Pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain appeared in five matches across the campaign for Kandy. His opening match did not go well, as he returned a spell of 1-53 and was subsequently dropped. Hasnain was (quite strangely) not bowled at all during a seven-over shootout against Jaffna Kings in his next match.
The highlight of Hasnain's campaign came in the Eliminator against Colombo Strikers, as he took 3-24, dismissing Nipun Dhananjaya early on, and Sadeera Samamrawickrama and Isitha Wijesundara in the final over of the innings. He finished with seven wickets in all.
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Agha Salman: 1 match, 0 runs & 1 wicket
All-rounder Agha Salman only played one match in this season of the LPL. In Kandy's second match of the season against Colombo Strikers, he came into the side. The first innings of the match saw him send down two overs of off spin, going for 10 runs and picking up the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama.
In the Falcons' chase of 199 though, he came in at 146-6 in the 15th over only to be dismissed by compatriot Shadab Khan off the first delivery he faced.
Azam Khan: DNP
Pakistan wicketkeeper Azam Khan was part of the Kandy Falcons' squad, but never made it to the pitch in LPL 2024. In fact, he didn't even make it to Sri Lanka, as his name was left off the PCB's list of centrally contracted players who had been granted NOCs (no-objection certificates) to play in overseas leagues.
Azam is also unlikely to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) later this year for the same reason, despite being retained by the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Mohammad Ali: DNP
Like Azam Khan, pacer Mohammad Ali also did not make it to this year's LPL although this was due to injury. He was replaced in the squad by Bangladesh left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam.
Players in Colombo Strikers
Shadab Khan: 9 matches, 17 wickets & 50 runs
Despite playing as an all-rounder for Pakistan and Islamabad United, Shadab had a significantly diminished role to play with the bat in LPL 2024. He began the season in style, picking up 4-22 against Kandy Falcons and 4-21 against Galle Marvels in his first two games. The haul against Galle included a hat-trick to derail their chase of 199.
Shadab had a third four-wicket haul this season, 4-10 against Jaffna Kings. With the bat, he did manage one cameo of 23 (12) against Kandy. A season of 17 wickets and 50 runs in nine matches made this a successful campaign for the leg-spinner.
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Galle Marvels
None
Jaffna Kings
None
Dambulla Sixers
None
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