"Lahore Qalandars had the best squad in PSL 2021" - Coach Aaqib Javed

Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed feels the franchise had the best squad in PSL 2021. However, the Qalandars could not use their resources properly. As a result, they crashed out of the tournament before the playoffs.

Lahore Qalandars were in the top half of the PSL 2021 points table when the competition resumed in Abu Dhabi. The Qalandars kicked off the UAE leg with two consecutive victories. They, however, went on to lose all four of their remaining games, eventually missing out on a spot in the playoffs because of their inferior net run rate.

Lahore's coach Aaqib Javed analyzed what went wrong for the Qalandars during his recent appearance on Salman Butt's YouTube channel. He said:

"The most important thing I feel was to use the resources properly. I think the Lahore Qalandars had the best squad in PSL 2021."

Lahore Qalandars were heavyweights: Salman Butt

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt agreed with Aaqib Javed's statement. Adding to Javed's comments, he said:

"Yes, I feel the Lahore Qalandars were heavyweights if you see the squad on paper. They had Pakistan's frontline bowlers in their bowling attack. Both Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf play for Pakistan. Rashid Khan is one of the top leg-spinners in the world.

"If you see the emerging cricketers, they had Daniyal, who is one of the boys who can bowl at 140 kmph. So, they had quality in their lineup."

Butt further pointed out that the Lahore Qalandars also had some of Pakistan's best batters. Even then, they could not bring their 'A' game to the table.

"Besides, Pakistan T20I team's most experienced batsman Mohammad Hafeez was also a part of this team. Fakhar Zaman, who played well against South Africa, was also a member of the squad. Yeah, there were a couple of soft spots, where they lacked experience. But they had the resources. Unfortunately, the big guns didn't fire."

While Lahore Qalandars are out of PSL 2021, the Multan Sultans will face Peshawar Zalmi for the championship tomorrow night in Abu Dhabi.