Quetta Gladiators

Quetta Gladiators is a cricket club that is part of the Pakistan Super League which is based on the model of Indian Premier League. Since the inaugural season of the PSL, the Gladiotors has been a vital part of the league.

Quetta Gladiators claim to be synonymous to the rich culture of the city of Quetta and its people. It added its name on the top spots in the first two seasons and managed to pull off a memorable run in the latest season.

Background

The Quetta Gladiators franchise is owned by Nadeem Omar who is the owner of a Karachi-based business company, Omar Associates. The price of the deal for the purchase of franchise was pegged at US$ 11 million for a 10-year agreement.

Quetta Gladiators don their jersey in purple, white and gold. The color purple is associated with ambition, devotion & integrity and the color white represents light, purity & positivity. It inculcates patriotism. However, the color Gold Is associated with legacy & rich history of Cricket.

They seek to identify themselves with the rich culture of Quetta through their logo ‘Shaan-e-Paskistan’ which reflects their love for the country. QG claims to represent not only the diverse demographics of Quetta but the whole of Pakistan.

Prominent Achievements

Quetta Gladiators has been one of the most consistent teams of the League. It has managed to enter into all the three seasons that has been culminated so far. Not only that, they were the runner-up of the first two seasons in 2016 and 2017.

They are in an elite club of three teams of the PSL, along with Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi, who have played finals of the tournament so far. Each of the teams has played two finals each. The team was also awarded with the US$ 20,000 cash-prized ‘Spirit of the Cricket’ Award in 2017 season of the league

Club Trajectory

In the inaugural season of the League, they managed to have a long run and entered into the finals like a pros. They finished second in the League Table with 12 points and 6 wins in 8 matches with Peshawar at the top also with 12 points, only ahead in Net Run Rate difference. Quetta won the first playoff against Peshawar and entered directly into the finals. But the United came too strong for them in the finals and they were defeated by 6 wickets.

Sarfaraz Ahmad, an able captain of an able team, surely would have felt nostalgic in experiencing the events of the second season of the League. His team landed second in the League Table yet again. Peshawar Zalmi were ahead of them but only with NRR difference and both having 9 points. In a heart thumping first play off, Quetta met Peshawar yet again but this time they emerged as a winner with a 1 run victory. But Peshawar fairly got their revenge this time when they defeated the Gladiators in the finals.

The third season was not that happening for the side. Amid some controversies between the management and some players, Sarfaraz managed to take his side into the playoffs. But the most memorable match came to his side yet again. They met Peshawar again in the second playoff. In a turn of events, Peshawar defeated Quetta and emerged victorious by one run.

Low Points and Controversies

The Net Run Rate graph went down for the team with each coming season. The winning percentage also went down in the same way.

Last year, there was controversy between some foreign players including Shane Watson and the management when they refused to play the playoffs in Pakistan. The owner of franchise Nadeem Omar accused that allegedly Watson had earlier agreed to play playoffs in Pakistan. The League matches were held in the United Arab Emirates.

The fourth season of the PSL is scheduled to be played from February 14, 2019. Quetta Gladiators of 2019 is a proper blend of young talents and experienced minds. There is Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Asghar and Danish Aziz on one side and Sarfaraz, Sunil Narine, Umar Akmal and Dwayne Bravo on the other side. There will be a total of 34 matches will be played in the UAE and Pakistan.