Sharjah: With Lahore confirmed as the final for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), plans are on to finalise the list of foreign players that are willing to travel for the final. Tickets for the final in Lahore, scheduled to be held on March 5, have also been printed.
Najam Sethi, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman, will now hold talks with the foreign players in the coming days here.
Before flying to Dubai from Pakistan after finalising everything to stage the final in Lahore, Sethi said: “I will be going back to Dubai now and once the finalists are confirmed I will again talk to the franchise owners and foreign players. We have also prepared a back-up list of foreign players in case the overseas signings of the finalist teams refuse to come to Lahore.”
The PSL organisers started preparations for the final soon after Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif gave them the go-ahead to host it in Lahore. This put an end to all doubts whether the government would clear the PSL organisers to stage the final in Lahore. The decision comes at a time when Pakistan has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks which resulted in over 100 deaths. A suicide attack in Lahore even killed 13 people.
The PSL organisers, in conjunction with the government and army have planned huge security arrangements. The PSL, whose first edition was held in UAE, will thus make its debut in Pakistan through this final.
Pakistan has not been able to host top international matches since 2009 following the terrorist-attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore. Foreign players and teams have repeatedly refused to play in Pakistan. On February 20, the PSL management and franchise owners held a meeting and all the owners were briefed about the security arrangements. Following which, all the teams agreed to play their match at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Sethi has revealed that he will release the names of the players that have agreed to play in Lahore once the play-off ends. He has emphatically stated that many foreign players will play in the final. The organisers are hoping that once the final is held in Lahore then slowly international cricket will also return to Pakistan. It is understood that additional money will be paid to the foreign players willing to play in Lahore.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan strongly opposed the decision to host the final in Lahore in an interview with a Pakistan television channel. “It’s madness, it’s a bad idea, the [security] situation is not good. Why are we taking a chance? International cricket won’t return to Pakistan like this if we lockdown the whole of Lahore,” said Khan, who is a leading politician now.
According to information, another draft is likely to be held before the final to pick overseas players to replace the existing ones who aren’t willing to travel to Pakistan for the final.
Incidentally, though the final will be held in Lahore, the PSL’s Lahore Qalandars team have crashed out without qualifying for the play-off.