Introduction
Islamabad United Team currently hold the record for being the PSL franchise with the greatest number of league titles (two). They are also the champions of the first edition of PSL. The team is currently lead by Shadab Khan (was the youngest PSL captain when he was made one) and is coached by former South African player, Johan Botha. Misbah Ul Haq was also the coach at one point in time. Their nickname is Sherus.
Owners
The franchise is currently owned by the Leonine Global Sports (a sports arm of the bigger investment firm) company whose owners are Ali Naqvi and Amna Naqvi. They both own a team in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz too. They bought IU for fifteen million American dollars back in 2015 when PSLÂ was founded.
Home Ground
Interestingly, their home ground isn’t in Islamabad. Rather, their home ground is in Rawalpindi. Though those who might not know the geography of Pakistan may think that these two cities are far away, this is not the case.
The stadium is just at a distance of 20-25 minutes’ drive by car from Islamabad. It is also the home ground of the Northern cricket team. The ground was created in 1992.
Facts About Islamabad United
Allow us to talk about some interesting facts related to this franchise.
- Saeed Ajmal is the assistant coach for IU.
- JP Duminy has been the most successful captain of all times for the team.
- In the 2020 edition of the league, they didn’t make it into the playoffs for the first time.
- Luke Ronchi is the highest run-scorer with more than 1000 runs to his name.
- While Faheem Ashraf is the highest wicket-taker with 46 wickets to his credit.
- Their weakest opponent to date has been the Lahore Qalandars.
- Misbah Ul Haq used to play for this team.
Performance of Islamabad United in Pakistan Super League
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PSL 2020
This wasn’t a great season at all for them since they finished last. Interestingly, out of the 6 matches that they lost, four were out of the last five that they played. They secured just seven points. It is one of the seasons which the team would like to forget.
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PSL 2019
They finished at a respectable third position as they won and lost five matches each. The also boasted a decent net run rate of 0.127. Had they won two more games, they might have possibly finished first or second. Still, it was a great performance in the league stage.
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PSL 2018
Perhaps one of their best performance as they topped the table with a whopping fourteen points. In total, they lost just three games while winning seven out of the ten which were played. Karachi Kings came in a distant second with eleven points.
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PSL 2017
Wasn’t that great a tournament for them since they finished second last. They lost and won four games each. This season’s league phase was quite competitive too as teams were just a point or two behind their nearest competitor.
