Dubai: Pakistan Super League (PSL) organisers got a shot in the arm with a number of foreign players agreeing to play in the final at Lahore on Sunday (March 5). Soon after Peshawar team reached the final, the team owners announced that their foreign players have agreed to fly out to Lahore.
Though it was feared that foreign players may not play in the final due to a series of bomb blasts that rocked Pakistan, the government has offered foolproof security to the players. West Indies star player and captain Darren Sammy and his compatriot Marlon Samuels have announced that they will play in the final. Others to follow suit are England’s Dawid Malan, Chris Jordan and Samit Patel — they all have been issued a seven-day visa for Pakistan.
Quetta Gladiators players, Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Tymal Mills, Nathan McCullum and Luke Wright had pulled out despite their team reaching the final. In fact some of the players from the Karachi Kings team which lost in the third play-off were also willing to play in Lahore. Their star all-rounder Ravi Bopara had tweeted that he would have played in the final if his team had qualified.
Islamabad United team coach Dean Jones also announced that he would be going to Lahore to show his support for Pakistan cricket. Karachi Kings coach Mickey Arthur, who is also the coach of the Pakistan national team, have flown to Lahore as he has plans to organise a few camps before the West Indies tour.
