Islamabad United

Islamabad United
اسلام‌آباد یونائیٹڈ‬
Nickname(s) IU, ISLU
Personnel
Captain Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq
Coach Australia Dean Jones
Owner Leonine Global Sports
Chief executive Abdul Qatir
Team information
City Islamabad
Colors
Founded 2015 (2015)
Home ground Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Capacity 25,000
History
PSL wins 2 (2016, 2018)
Official website: islamabadunited.com

T20I kit

Islamabad United (Urdu: اسلام‌آباد یونائیٹڈ‬‎) is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team’s nickname is IU. Islamabad United are the inaugural champions of the Pakistan Super League. The team is nominally based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first season of the Pakistan Super League. The franchise is owned by Leonine Global Investments through its sports entity Leonine Global Sports, owned by Amna Naqvi and Ali Naqvi.[1] The franchise won the first PSL title, defeating Quetta Gladiators in the final. Shoaib Naveed is the Chief Operating Officer of the franchise while Rehan Ul Haq is its General Manager. The franchise won their second title in the third season of the PSL, by defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the final by 3 wickets.

The team's homeground is the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The team is currently captained by Pakistan's most successful test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and coached by former Australian player Dean Jones. Rumman Raees is the current vice-captain of the team. The team director is former Pakistani fast bowler Waqar Younis while Saeed Ajmal is spin bowling coach.[2][3]

The leading run-scorer of the team is Luke Ronchi,[4] while Mohammad Sami is the leading wicket-taker.[5] In 2018 The leading run-scorer of the team is Luke Ronchi,[6] while Faheem Ashraf is the leading wicket-taker of the team and of the tournament.

Ownership

The franchise is owned by Leonine Global Investments, which is focused on investments and business interest globally, through its sports entity Leonine Global Sports. The sports company also owns Hong Kong Island United, a franchise team in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz. Leonine Global is owned by Ali Naqvi and Amna Naqvi.

Franchise history

In 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the inaugural season of the Pakistan Super League would take place in February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates.[7] On 3 December 2015, the PCB unveiled the owners of five city-based franchises. The Islamabad franchise was sold to Leonine Global Sports for US$15 Million.[1]

2016 season: Champions

Islamabad United
2016 season
Coach Australia Dean Jones
Captain Pakistan Misbah ul Haq
PSL 2016 Champions
Most runs Pakistan Sharjeel Khan (299)
Most wickets West Indies Cricket Board Andre Russell (16)
2017 →
Islamabad United's team after win Celebration

After a poor start to the 2016 Pakistan Super League tournament Islamabad United finished third in the round robin group stage, qualifying for the knock out stage of the tournament. The team won four matches out of eight, finishing with eight points from their group games.

They faced fourth placed Karachi Kings in the eliminator, winning by nine wickets thanks to Mohammad Sami's man of the match performance of five wickets for eight runs from four overs. Brad Haddin and Dwayne Smith each scored fifties as United achieved their target of 111 in the 15th over.[8]

In the second qualifier match Islamabad met Peshawar Zalmi. Sharjeel Khan scored 117 from 62 balls, the first century scored in the Pakistan Super League. It proved to be the difference between the teams as United posted 176 for 3 and Zalmi were bowled out for 126 with two full overs to go. United, spinner Imran Khalid took four wickets for 20 runs and Andre Russell three for 37. The win took United through to the final against Quetta Gladiators.

The 2016 Pakistan Super League Final was won by Islamabed by six wickets.[9] United opted to bowl first after winning the toss and the Gladiators scored 174–7 in their 20 overs. Andre Russell, who finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker, took three for 37. In reply United started well with Dwayne Smith scoring 73 runs and Brad Haddin an unbeaten 61, allowing United to score 174 for four with eight balls remaining and win the title.[10][11]

2017 season

Islamabad United
2017 season
Coach Australia Dean Jones
Captain Pakistan Misbah ul Haq
PSL 2017 Eliminator
Most runs West Indies Cricket Board Dwayne Smith (274)
Most wickets Pakistan Rumman Raees (18)
2018 →
Mohammad Sami is the leading wicket-taker of the team.

In the 2017 Pakistan Super League players draft, United retained 17 players from their previous squad. The team picked Ben Duckett, Zohaib Khan and Shadab Khan to complete their 20 men squad.[12] Later Steven Finn replaced Andre Russell after he was banned for a year for doping breach.[13] Ben Duckett was replaced by Nicolas Pooran after Duckett left the squad ahead of play-offs due to national duties.[14]

Islamabad United played the inaugural game of the 2017 season against Peshawar Zalmi, which they managed to win by 7 wickets and thus continuing their winning streak from last season.[15] In the following game, however, they lost to Lahore Qalandars by 6 wickets after posting 158 on the board. Misbah top-scored for United through his unbeaten innings of 61 off 36 balls that included 5 sixes.[16]

As the tournament shifted to Sharjah, United continued to rebuild their campaign by handing Quetta Gladiators their first loss of the season. Chasing 149, they managed to do so at a loss of 5 wickets with 5-balls to spare. Sam Billings was the top-scorer with his aggressive knock of 78 from 50 balls.[17] But in the following game against table-bottoms, Karachi Kings, United lost by 8-runs through the Duckworth-Lewis method. This came about after they posted 90 runs in their allotted 13 overs in a rain-marred game that was abandoned after 9.4 overs in the second innings.[18] However, continuing on, United won a thrilling last-ball win against Peshawar Zalmi. Dwayne Smith was instrumental in his team's chase of 137 runs as he scored 72 off 59 balls after United's bowlers had earlier restricted the opposition to a below-par score.[19] Following this victory, however, the team lost to Lahore Qalandars by 1 wicket in a tense game. Batting first, United had difficulties in building their innings and were at one time 83–6. But the team's emerging player, Shadab Khan, scored 42 off 24 balls to get United to a respectable total of 145 which almost proved match-winning.[20]

With the tournament moving back to Dubai, United registered a thrilling win against Quetta Gladiators. After putting up a total of 166, the team was staring at almost certain defeat after the Gladiators were 148 for the loss of just one wicket at the 16th over. However, after a flurry of wickets and the inability of the opposition batsmen to finish the game, United prevailed by 1 run. This win also ensured the team of a play-off spot.[21]

Just like last year, Islamabad again faced Karachi in the eliminator. In what proved to be a thrilling game, Karachi, batting first, scored a measly 126 getting all out in the process. Islamabad was set to win and qualify for the second play off. However, that was not the case as the second innings proved. The Karachi bowlers outshone the Islamabad batsmen with Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim and Usama Mir each picking up three wickets. Islamabad were all out for a mere 82 runs, their lowest in the tournament and the second-lowest in the tournament's history.[22]Hence, the defending champions were knocked out.[23]

2018 season : Champions

Islamabad United
2018 season
Coach Australia Dean Jones
Captain Pakistan Misbah ul Haq
PSL 2018 Champions
Most runs New Zealand Luke Ronchi (435)
Most wickets Pakistan Faheem Ashraf (18)
2019 →

United started their 2018 season with a loss to Peshawar Zalmi. Chasing a target of 176, the team was reduced to 25-4 inside the powerplay before falling short by 34 runs in their allotted overs.[24] The team rebounded in the next game, against Multan Sultans, by winning it with 5 wickets spare. Hussain Talat's unbeaten innings of 48 runs was instrumental in United's chase of 114 in difficult batting conditions.[25]

As the league stage shifted to Sharjah, the team lost to Quetta Gladiators by 6 wickets as they failed to defend the 135-run target.[26] United's key player and vice-captain, Rumman Raees, suffered a knee injuring during the match that has put his availability for the rest of the season in jeopardy.[27] However, the next game, the team bounced back and won a thriller against Lahore Qalandars. The match went down to the Super Over as United managed to restrict the Qalandars to a level score of 121 during the initial innings. The Super Over target of 16 runs, in turn, was surmounted by a last ball six from Andre Russell.[28] In the next game, the team ended the unbeaten run of Karachi Kings by beating them by 8 wickets in the chase of 154 runs. Luke Ronchi's aggressive innings of 71(37) was the cornerstone of the victory.[29] This meant that the team had qualified for the final.

In the final, Islamabad United won the match against Peshawer Zalmi after they chased a target of 149. Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and elected to bat first. Peshawar's in-form batsman Kamran Akmal was out lbw for 1 run off 8 balls, with Samit Patel taking the wicket in the third over early on. Shadab Khan's three wickets restricted Peshawar to 148 runs.[30] Islamabad's Luke Ronchi hit five sixes in the first five overs as he raced to 45 runs off just 15 balls, before he got out in the ninth over after scoring a 26-ball 52 in the second innings. By the time, Ronchi and Sahibzada Farhan - who played his own part with 44 runs off 33 balls - had put on 96 runs for the opening partnership in under nine overs. But a sudden collapse resulted in Islamabad losing six wickets for 20 runs leaving them at 116/6. The winning runs were scored by Faheem Ashraf who hooked Wahab Riaz for six with just one run required.[30]

Team Identity

The team logo and name was revealed on 22 December 2015 in a ceremony held at the Polo Club in Islamabad. The logo features a lion.[31] The team's primary colours are red, orange and a light shade of brown.[32]

Fawad Khan is team's star ambassador since 2016, while Ali Zafar was team's star ambassador only for 2016 season. The franchise has also focused on Empowerment and Momina Mustehsan joined the team as its Empowerment Champion in 2017 season.[33] Team's Anthem in the initial season was "Chakka Choka" sung by Ali Zafar. In 2017, new Anthems of the team; "Cricket Jorray Pakistan" was sung by Momina Mustehsan, and "Kitna Rola Daalay Ga" by Abdullah Qureshi.[34][35][36]

Dostea was the main sponsor and shirt sponsor of the team in 2016 while Cinepax and GLO Merchandise were merchandise sponsors.[37] WWF Pakistan are the team's official partners. Mocca are team's current official food partners [38] with Dunya News and FM 101 the news and entertainment partners of the team respectively while PTV Sports is team's brand and media partner.For second season United signed with JS Bank as the title sponsor and Q Mobile as team's main partner respectively. Other partners are PTCL, Yayvo and Igloo. [39]

Year Kit Manufacturer Front Branding Back Branding Chest Branding Sleeve Branding
2016 Dostea Dostea Dunya News Dostea
2017 Q Mobile PTCL JS Bank Dunya News,
2018 Gwadar Golf City Tang Samaa News, G.F.C, Dairy Milk

Current squad

Islamabad United
No. Name Nat. Date of Birth Bat Bowl Contract signed year Salary Notes
Batsmen
6 Iftikhar Ahmed Pakistan (1990-09-03) 3 September 1990 R R off break 2018 25,000
8 Sahibzada Farhan Pakistan (1996-03-06) 6 March 1996 R — 2018 10,000
2 Alex Hales England (1989-01-03) 3 January 1989 R R medium 2018 25,47 Overseas
13 Asif Ali Pakistan (1991-10-01) 1 October 1991 R R medium fast 2018 25,000
21 JP Duminy South Africa (1984-04-14) 14 April 1984 L R off break 2018 140,000 Overseas
22 Misbah-ul-Haq Pakistan (1974-05-28) 28 May 1974 R R leg break 2018 140,000 Captain
All-rounders
5 Hussain Talat Pakistan (1996-02-12) 12 February 1996 L R medium fast 2018 10,000
9 Amad Butt Pakistan (1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 R R fast 2018 25,000
12 Andre Russell West Indies Cricket Board (1988-04-29) 29 April 1988 R R fast 2018 140,000 Overseas
29 Samit Patel England (1984-11-30) 30 November 1984 R Slow L orthodox 2018 46,68 Overseas
41 Fahim Ashraf Pakistan (1994-01-16) 16 January 1994 L R medium fast 2018 50,000
72 David Willey England (1990-02-28) 28 February 1990 L L fast medium 2018 46,47 Overseas
76 Shadab Khan Pakistan (1998-10-04) 4 October 1998 R R leg break 2018 50,000
Wicket-keepers
1 Mohammad Hassan Pakistan (1990-10-04) 4 October 1990 R — 2018 45,68
20 Sam Billings England (1991-06-15) 15 June 1991 R — 2018 25,000 Overseas
46 Rohail Nazir Pakistan (2001-10-10) 10 October 2001 R — 2018 10,000
54 Luke Ronchi New Zealand (1981-04-23) 23 April 1981 R — 2018 70,000 Overseas
59 Chadwick Walton West Indies Cricket Board (1985-07-03) 3 July 1985 R — 2018 46,68 Overseas
Bowlers
7 Mohammad Sami Pakistan (1981-02-24) 24 February 1981 R R fast 2018 70,000
11 Rumman Raees Pakistan (1991-10-18) 18 October 1991 R L medium fast 2018 50,000
17 Zafar Gohar Pakistan (1995-02-01) 1 February 1995 L slow L orthodox 2018 25,000
25 Steven Finn England (1989-04-04) 4 April 1989 R R fast medium 2018 46,67 Overseas
77 Samuel Badree West Indies Cricket Board (1981-03-08) 8 March 1981 R R leg spin 2018 70,000 Overseas
50 Mohammad Hasnain Pakistan (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 R R medium fast 2018 10,000

    Management and coaching staff

    Misbah ul Haq is the Captain of Islamabad United
    Name Position
    Ali Naqvi & Amna Naqvi (LGS) Owner
    Pakistan Waqar Younis Director & Bowling coach[40]
    Australia Dean Jones Head Coach
    Pakistan Tauseef Ahmed Assistant coach
    Pakistan Saeed Ajmal Spin bowling coach
    Pakistan Rehan ul Haq General manager
    Pakistan Hassan Cheema Team manager
    Australia Dean Woodfodrd Fitness trainer
    Australia Errol Alcott Physio

    Captains

    No. Nat. Player From To Mat Won Lost Tie&W Tie&L NR %
    1 Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq 2016 Present 26 15 10 1 0 0 59.61
    2 Australia Shane Watson 2016 2016 2 1 1 0 0 0 50.00
    3 Pakistan Rumman Raees 2018 2018 2 1 1 0 0 0 50.00
    4 South Africa JP Duminy 2018 2018 2 2 0 0 0 0 100.00

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Last updated: 25 March 2018

    Result summary

    Overall result in PSL

    YearPldWonLossTie&WTie&LNRSR(%)PositionSummary
    2016 117400063.631/5Champions
    2017 94500044.444/5Play-offs
    2018 128310075.001/6Champions
    Total 32201210062.50 2 Titles

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Last updated: 25 March 2018

    Head-to-head record

    OppositionSpanMatWonLostTie&WTie&LNRSR%
    Karachi Kings2016–present95400055.56
    Lahore Qalandars2016–present63210058.33
    Multan Sultans2018–present220000100.00
    Peshawar Zalmi2016–present74300057.14
    Quetta Gladiators2016–present85300062.50

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Last updated: 25 March 2018

    Statistics

    Most runs

    Nat. Player From To Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100 50
    New Zealand Luke Ronchi 2018 present 11 11 435 43.50 94* 0 5
    Barbados Dwayne Smith 2016 2017 13 13 427 38.81 73 0 4
    Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq 2016 present 26 19 381 25.40 61* 0 1
    Australia Shane Watson 2016 2017 15 15 365 26.07 79 0 1
    Australia Brad Haddin 2016 2017 17 17 327 25.15 73 0 4

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Last updated: 25 March 2018

    Most wickets

    Nat. Player From To Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI Economy 4w 5w
    Pakistan Mohammad Sami 2016 present 27 98.2 37 17.43 5/8 6.5 0 1
    Barbados Andre Russell 2016 present 14 44.2 20 18.25 3/18 8.23 0 0
    Pakistan Rumman Raees 2016 present 18 62.3 20 19.65 4/25 6.28 1 0
    Pakistan Faheem Ashraf 2018 present 12 40 18 17.22 3/19 7.75 0 0
    Pakistan Shadab Khan 2017 present 20 70.1 18 25.61 3/13 6.57 0 0

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Last updated: 18 March 2018

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 "Pakistan Super League: Seven Companies fight it out to buy franchises". Express etribune. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
    2. ↑ "Pakistan Super League, Day 1: Younis Khan unsold as Misbah ul-Haq picked by Islamabad United". Zee News.
    3. ↑ Ali, Sarah. "Islamabad United". HBL Pakistan Super League. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
    4. ↑ "Pakistan Super League-Islamabad United/Most runs". ESPNcricinfo.
    5. ↑ "Pakistan Super League-Islamabad United/Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo.
    6. ↑ "Pakistan Super League-Islamabad United/Most runs". ESPNcricinfo.
    7. ↑ "Pakistan Super League T20 in UAE seeks to rival India's IPL". Retrieved 22 December 2015.
    8. ↑ "Islamabad beat Karachi by nine wickets in Eliminator". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 20 February 2016. .
    9. ↑ "United all set to face Gladiators in 2016 Final". Dunya News. Retrieved 22 February 2016. .
    10. ↑ "The Final Quetta Gladiators VS Islamabad United". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
    11. ↑ "Islamabad United Crowned PSL 2016 Champs". Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
    12. ↑ "Islamabad United Complete 20 men squad for 2017 PSL". The News Tribe. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
    13. ↑ "Steven Finn replaces banned Andre Russell". Dawn News. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
    14. ↑ "Pooran replaces Ben Duckett ahead of play-offs". (Green team 92). Retrieved 28 February 2017.
    15. ↑ "Haddin, Smith fifties key in Islamabad win". ESPN Cricinfo.
    16. ↑ "Elliott, Roy star in Lahore's first win". ESPN Cricinfo.
    17. ↑ "Blistering Billings gives Islamabad much-needed boost". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
    18. ↑ "Babar, spinners put Karachi on board". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
    19. ↑ "Bowlers, Smith haul Islamabad to last-ball win". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
    20. ↑ "Elliott six seals nerve-wracking one-wicket win for Lahore". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
    21. ↑ "Islamabad secure playoff spot after late Quetta stumble". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
    22. ↑ "Records/Lowest totals/Pakistan Super League". ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
    23. ↑ "Islamabad knocked out,Karachi stays in". Retrieved 1 March 2017.
    24. ↑ Venugopal, Arun. "Umaid Asif's four-for leads Peshawar to big win". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
    25. ↑ Kalro, Nikhil. "Talat's cameo carries Islamabad home in low-scorer". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
    26. ↑ Rasool, Danyal. "Bowlers, Pietersen dazzle in Quetta win". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
    27. ↑ "Islamabad United hope for speedy recovery of injured Rumman Raees". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
    28. ↑ Rasool, Danyal. "Lahore Qalandars blow it in Super Over finish". ESPN Cricinfo.
    29. ↑ Shetty, Varun. "Luke Ronchi decimates Karachi with 37-ball 71". ESPN Cricinfo.
    30. 1 2 Rasool, Danyal (25 March 2018). "Ronchi, Shadab seal Islamabad's second PSL title". ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
    31. ↑ "LGS unveils Islamabad United's logo for PSL". Aaj News.
    32. ↑ "Proposed changes in PSL to face resistance". The Express Tribune. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
    33. ↑ "Momina Mustehsan joins Islamabad United as 'Empowerment Champion'". DAWN. Abdul Ghaffar. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
    34. ↑ "Momina Mustehsan's Islamabad United anthem will bring you to tears – for all the wrong reasons". The Express Tribune. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
    35. ↑ "Abdullah Qureshi sang the best PSL song for Islamabad United, but YOU WON'T BELIEVE what he has to say about the team!". Daily Pakistan. Sana Gilani. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
    36. ↑ "In focus: The Pakistan Super League 2 soundtrack". The News. Maheen Sabeeh. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
    37. ↑ "Islamabad United official merchandise". Shop-GLO. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
    38. ↑ "Islamabad United and WWF join hands to conserve snow leopards". Dunya News. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
    39. ↑ "Islamabad United unleashes kit and anthem". Dunya News. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
    40. ↑ "Waqar Younis appointed Islamabad United's new Director". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
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