3 ways Multan Sultans have shown they are ahead of their time
Multan Sultans compete in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the premier T20 competition in Pakistan. They were founded in 2017 as an additional sixth team in the competition. Multan Sultans won their only PSL title in 2021 under the leadership of captain Mohammad Rizwan and coach Andy Flower.
They have also appeared in consecutive finals (2022, 23) after their title win. Rizwan is the highest run-getter (1,596 runs) in Multan Sultans' history, while Imran Tahir (53 wickets) is the top wicket-taker.
On that note, we look at three instances when the Sultans were visionary as compared to other franchises in the competition.
#1 First T20 franchise in Pakistan with a female general manager
Journalist Hijab Zahid, who is currently the director at Grassroots Cricket, has been appointed as the successor to Haider Azhar for the general manager role. This makes her one of the few female general managers not just in Pakistan, but in any men's T20 franchise across the globe. The 28-year-old is also the youngest general manager at the PSL.
"It's a lot harder to assert authority as a woman," she said. "It's culturally harder for men to take directions from a woman. We have people in this industry who haven't interacted with women in their lives through no fault of their own, especially in this power dynamic, said Zahid
Zahid also believes that this will open a lot of doors for women who want to work in sports as analysts, presenters and media managers. However, her vision is about being a superb administrator, and that she would learn a lot of the skills on the job.
#2 Use of data in decision-making
Andy Flower has been one of the most successful coaches in the T20 circuit in the last few years. The former Zimbabwe skipper has heavily emphasized the role of data-driven analytics while building a successful T20 unit in the long term.
While even the Mumbai Indians have also achieved massive success because of decision-making using data, the Multan Sultans are definitely one of the earliest adopters, albeit not pioneers, in the PSL. Flower has worked in-depth with Nathan Leamon, and their decision-making was often backed by sound logic and awareness of matchups.
Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen is a huge believer in the role of data. Having studied at Berkeley and Yale, the 34-year-old was intrigued by Oakland Athletics - the team on which the famous movie 'Moneyball' was made.
#3 Emphasis on home-grown players
Multan Sultans have invested heavily in domestic talent. The likes of Ihsanullah, Abbas Afridi and Shanawaz Dahani, have been handpicked by the franchise as horses for the long run. These emerging fast bowlers have shown immense talent by performing under pressure against some of the most experienced T20 players in the globe.
While scouting talented youngsters for a T20 team may not be a very new thought process, Multan Sultans have been able to execute it very well. Having a strong core of young domestic players pays off exponentially, as we have seen with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.