User:Mar4d/Karachi Kings–Lahore Qalandars rivalry

The Karachi Kings–Lahore Qalandars rivalry is a sports rivalry between the cricket teams of Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The two teams have played against each other four times, out of which Karachi Kings have won thrice and Lahore Qalandars once.

Background
Karachi and Lahore, the capitals of Sindh and Punjab, are Pakistan's largest and second largest cities respectively. The two share a popular intercity rivalry that is characterised by historical, political, economic and cultural connotations. The rivalry also finds its way into sport, particularly cricket. Traditionally, Karachi and Lahore have dominated the grassroots structures of Pakistani cricket, producing several of the game's renowned players. While Lahore and Punjab gave rise to many aggressive bowlers and all-rounders including Fazal Mahmood, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq, Karachi is usually known for its gifted batsmen such as Hanif Mohammad, Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar and Younis Khan. Over the decades, the competitive level of cricket between the two cities evolved into a regional rivalry that was further augmented in domestic first-class competitions.

At times, the rivalry has also been influenced by political regionalism due to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) being headquartered in Lahore. In Karachi, there is the occasional gripe that the PCB displays selection bias favouring Lahore-based cricketers and neglects Karachi's talent when it comes to national team selections. According to Osman Samiuddin of ESPNcricinfo, the Karachi–Lahore rivalry is a "healthy, productive rivalry when times are good and a crippling divide when days are bad." Provincialism first came into foray during the late 1960s, when Karachi's Hanif Mohammad and Lahore's Saeed Ahmed competed for national captaincy. When Ahmed was dropped as captain, the Lahore press was quick to blame Karachi's cricket fraternity.

By the early 1970s, Pakistan's cricket structure was effectively a conjunction of two power centres, dubbed the "Karachi lobby" and "Lahore lobby". The term "lobby" referred to the cricket associations in Karachi and Lahore, who were empowered by the PCB to run cricket clubs in these two main cities and develop talented players for Pakistan. These city associations competed for funds and enjoyed key influence over national selection committee decisions. As provincial politics intensified in Pakistan during this period, its impact was also felt on cricket. In the media, members of the two lobbies frequently accused the other of promoting their city's players over merit.

The launch of the Pakistan Super League in 2015 brought franchise-based cricket to the country.