Quetta Gladiators' PSL Championship Tally: How Many Titles Have They Won?

Formed in 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to uplift their cricketing game in the T20 format was leveraged with the introduction of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Among six teams that participated in the league, Quetta Gladiators happened to be one of the most consistent sides for the first five editions of the competition. The Omar Associates-owned franchise managed to get one step better in the 2019 edition as they won the title under captain Sarfaraz Ahmed by defeating Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets.

However, the Quetta side failed to replicate a similar performance in the subsequent years. They failed to make the playoffs for the next four editions before a solo appearance in PSL 2024. In the next edition, they topped the league table with 15 points from ten matches to seal a Qualifier 1 berth.

Let's have a quick look at the Gladiators’ performance history and analyse their best editions in the PSL history. 

Quetta Gladiators' Championship Victory: The 2019 Triumph

After finishing as the runners-up in the first couple of editions and entering the playoffs in 2018, the Gladiators finally got to hold the championship in the subsequent edition. Under the leadership of Sarfaraz, the Balochistan-based franchise finished second in the points table with 14 points from ten matches. They won seven games and lost only three, making it to Qualifier 1 with a top-two finish.

They initiated the campaign with four consecutive wins before incurring a couple of defeats against the Karachi Kings and the Lahore Qalandars. However, the Gladiators bounced back with a hat-trick of victories before their second loss to Karachi in the same edition, followed by a consolation win over Peshawar Zalmi. 

Quetta faced Zalmi in Qualifier 1 and won by ten runs, thanks to the all-round brilliance of Shane Watson. The three-dimensional star smashed 71 off 43 balls and picked up a wicket for ten runs in a solo over. Ahsan Ali played a handy knock of 46 off 32 balls in a defence of 186 runs. 

Facing the same opposition in the final, the Gladiators had the task cut out to chase down 139 runs in 20 overs after the brilliance from Mohammad Hasnain. The quick bagged a three-fer for 30 runs in his full quota of overs, breaking down the opposition batting order. He outsmarted Imam-ul-Haq, Umar Amin, and Kieron Pollard in this main event clash. Dwayne Bravo snared a couple of wickets too. 

In response to a first innings score of 138, Ahmed Shahzad’s 58 off 51 balls, coupled with middle-order assistance from Ahsan Ali and Rilee Rossouw, helped the Gladiators ease the chase. What seemed more like a one-sided contest went down to the 18th over as the Zalmi bowlers tried to build pressure, but the score on the board was too little to be defended.

Overview of Quetta Gladiators' PSL Performance

One of the major reasons behind Quetta’s success story in 2019 was the form of Shane Watson. The Aussie great had a magnificent season with the willow, racking up 430 runs from twelve matches. He had an outstanding batting strike rate of 143.81 while maintaining an average of 43. He was also the third-highest six-hitter (22) in the tourney after Kieron Pollard and Asif Ali, who hit 25 biggies each.

Barring Watson’s incredible batting, Ahmed Shahzad played an indispensable role in the middle order, mustering 311 runs from eight matches at an average of 51.83. He was well-assisted by Rilee Rossouw and Umar Akmal throughout the competition. The former smashed 295 runs from twelve innings at an average of 32.77 and a strike rate of 135.94, while the latter smoked 277 runs at a strike rate of 137.12.

In their bowling department, the trinity of Sohail Tanveer, Mohammad Hasnain, and Muhammad Nawaz played a crucial role in the wicket-taker’s column. They forged a complete bowling group that could dominate the opposition on their day. 

All in all, the Quetta side rode on a complete team performance rather than building on individual brilliance. Each one of them stepped up on a different game to showcase their team's excellence.

Conclusion

Four teams have won the PSL trophy once in the last nine years. One of them is the Quetta Gladiators. However, they have raced past the group stages on five occasions, with a dry period between 2020 and 2023 when they finished in the group stages for four consecutive years.

With a rich heritage of cricketers that includes Champions Trophy-winning Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Quetta has been a tough team in the league’s history. Additionally, renowned names like Kumar Sangakkara, Kevin Pietersen, Shane Watson, Rilee Rossouw, Naseem Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Anwar Ali, Jason Roy, Ahmed Shehzad, etc, donned the jersey and carried forward the rich legacy of the franchise. The team also gave rise to a few international cricketers such as Naseem, Hasnain, and Nawaz, among others.

Currently, they’ve qualified for the playoffs of the 2025 edition of the PSL, and beat Islamabad United in Qualifier 1 to reach the final berth.