Multan Sultans facing first test of extensive and high-profile overhaul

Shahid Afridi, Andy Flower, Nathan Leamon, Moeen Ali, Rilee Rossouw - the names are in place but will it be enough to spark a change in fortunes?

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There is a reason that no-ones ultimate favourite band is a supergroup. Cream, Bad Company and Crosby Stills, Nash and Young were all great in their own right, but there was a degree of overkill and overindulgence in the lot. A whole smaller than the sum of its individual parts.

We await with bated breath to discover whether Multan Sultans are the ones who have bitten off more than they can chew as they prepare to get their third Pakistan Super League campaign underway.

They have coach Andy Flower and senior analyst Nathan Leamon underpinning everything in the rhythm section; Moeen Ali sitting on lead guitar preparing to unleash the odd flourish; the reliable Rilee Rossouw is the keyboard player, while Shahid Afridi is the unstable frontman who should have retired years ago winding up for one last hurrah.

Sultans are either onto a winner or are about to teach the Gallagher brothers something about brutal break-ups. Either way, it makes their campaigns one of the most fascinating things about this year's fifth edition of the PSL.

PSL 2020 SQUADS

Given their unquestionable record together with England, the longer Sultans can keep Flower and Leamon under the same roof the shorter the wait for their maiden title will be. They combined to deadly effect to help deliver a T20 World Cup and away Ashes success at the start of the last decade.

Co-founder of CricViz Leamon might be relatively new to franchise cricket but it would be foolish to discount his influence. Having played a role in the player draft, he will be among Flower's chief confidants during the competition, feeding him in-game information that can be deployed at will.

"Coach and captain will make the final decisions at every stage, but behind them is a structure that tests their thinking and gives them all the information they could possibly need to make the best decisions they can," he told The Cricketer in December.

That there is an English tinge to the squad is of little surprise. Batsman James Vince was joined by Ali in the first round of the draft and Ravi Bopara was not too far behind. Wayne Madsen will stand in for Fabian Allen - the Jamaican was one of the coups of the draft - and Rossouw and the irrefutably adapt Imran Tahir complete the overseas contingent.

^{Nathan Leamon will underpin the Sultans campaign in 2020}

Ali's continued desire to ignore the overtures of England's Test team is Sultans' gain. He might not have the best record in these conditions but we're talking about an international caliber player operating at the top of his game. He is one of the competition's biggest draws.

However, he will live in the shadow created by Afridi, who is back on home soil to cause havoc. Or something like that. At 39, 'Boom Boom' is so far past his best days it is hard to remember if they actually happened. Not since August 22, 2017, has he scored more than 39 in a single T20. His bowling returns have been slightly better, but then no-one is turning out to see his googly.

Opening round opponents Lahore Qalandars will, of course, have home advantage for their first game. They possess two fearsome seamers in Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, gun opener Chris Lynn and Lendl Simmons who enjoyed a decent CPL last year (430 runs, ave 39.09, strike-rate 150.34). In short, they will be unwilling to indulge any early nerves.

The Sultans have put foundations in place to ensure this year's PSL is no jaunt. But the main questions they have to answer surround whether they have the personnel on the field to match what sits above.