Will Lahore Qalandars be fourth time lucky?

Lahore Qalandars are perhaps the most followed Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise in the country and that is because they've proved time and again that they are the most consistent team in the tournament.

Unfortunately that consistency has always come at the wrong side of the table, as they've finished last in all of three editions.

The franchise, which is named after the capital of the province of Punjab, has only managed to win eight matches out of a total of 26 a tally which made the hierarchy make wholesale changes in the squad for the upcoming edition.

As many as 16 new faces will be in contention to represent Qalandars this season, which is why a much-improved show is expected from the team in PSL4.

The team will be captained by Pakistan veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who has the experience of playing 256 T20s in his career, where he has scored 5,394 runs at an average of 24.51 and has also claimed 162 wickets.

Strengths

Qalandars have always found themselves wanting in the previous editions, either with the bat or with the ball, and it felt that they were a player short in both of these departments at crucial times. However, this time around, the management has turned their focus on having a team full of all-rounders, which is why their balance looks the best on paper.

Likes of Hafeez, New Zealand duo of Anton Devcich and Corey Anderson, West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite, young Hassan Khan and South Africa's David Wiese are not only players who can offer with both bat and all but they are all different in their own manner, something which will add value to the Qalandars' squad in the competition.

With all of those options on the table, Hafeez will feel that Qalandars have enough resources to produce positive results on the pitch this time around.

Weakness

Lahore Qalandars' squad gives you the feeling that they have all their bases covered at least on the paper. However, their spin department is something which can be exploited by the other teams.

The team will have the services of Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, Nepal's young sensation Sandeep Lamichhane and young left-arm spinner Hassan.

Some people will say that those options look decent enough but that might not be the case in the competition as Shah has not really established himself as a champion spinner in the shorter formats, while Lamichhane will be playing in his debut season that too against players who are normally better players of spin and Hassan is an...