LAHORE — Karachi Kings are paying a steep price for their mounting injury list, and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan made no attempt to sugarcoat it.
Speaking to reporters after his side’s heavy seven-wicket loss to Peshawar Zalmi in the 32nd fixture of PSL 11 at Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, Azam pointed squarely at the team’s medical misfortunes as the driving force behind a campaign that has visibly unravelled over the past few weeks.
The Kings opened the tournament in electrifying fashion, sweeping their first three fixtures against Quetta Gladiators, defending champions Lahore Qalandars, and Rawalpindi Express. That form, however, proved short-lived. A combination of bad luck and bad timing intervened when captain David Warner was ruled out with a back problem, forcing him to sit out three consecutive matches — all of which ended in defeat, pushing the Kings down to seventh on the points table.
Wednesday’s fixture brought yet another cruel blow. All-rounder Danish Aziz — referred to as Shahid Aziz by Azam in the presser — was forced off the field after bowling just a solitary over, clutching his shoulder in discomfort having conceded only a single run. It was a moment that encapsulated the Kings’ season perfectly: talent interrupted by circumstance.
“The moment our combination got disrupted, the results followed,” Azam said candidly at the post-match briefing. “In those first three games, everything clicked — the XI was settled, the rhythm was there. But once the injuries started coming in, we just couldn’t rebuild that consistency.”
He was equally direct about the evening’s events: “Even tonight, we lost a key player to a shoulder injury. That’s the story of our season. Every time we try to stabilise the group, something sets us back.”
With two matches remaining — against Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators — the Kings need maximum points from both games and a helping hand from results elsewhere to keep their playoff dream alive. It’s a narrow path, but Azam refused to walk away from it.
“Even if it’s one per cent, we’re going all in,” he said firmly. “That’s the mindset — fight until the last ball of the last game.”
He also touched on a broader truth about Pakistan cricket: that no team can truly thrive without its local core stepping up. “At the end of the day, if the domestic players don’t deliver, you won’t win. It’s that simple,” he remarked.
For the Kings, the equation is brutal but clear — win or go home. Whether they can hold it together for two more nights is a question only the next few days can answer.
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