What’s the story?
The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed that the finals of this year’s Pakistan Super League would be held in Lahore on March 9. Also, the board has confirmed that they are now working on the plans to bring the International players to the country, and if the players are not comfortable with the security arrangements, the PCB is also working on backup plans to replace these players.
In case you didn’t know...
International cricket stalled in Pakistan since the attack on Sri Lanka team bus back in 2009. Only Zimbabwe became the Full Member team to tour Pakistan in 2015 for a 3-match Pakistan series.
In order to revive International cricket in the country, the PCB has also extended an invitation to West Indies to tour Pakistan for a 2-match T20 series in Lahore. However, the tour is subject to security clearances from the West Indies Players’ Association.
FICA, the International players' association, has however issued a statement which clearly indicates that there is a considerable security threat to players in Pakistan and thus the International players should refrain from touring the country.
The heart of the matter
Ever since the second season of the PSL was unveiled, PCB chief Najam Sethi had said that the finals would be held in Lahore. The board has also taken several steps to bring this plan to the fore, and they have now received security clearances from the Punjab government.
The board has also bought four bulletproof buses, as they do not want to leave anything to chance. They also hope that this would help in building confidence measures and in convincing players to tour the country. Also, the players have been briefed about the fly-in, fly-out arrangements for the team.
PCB is also trying to convince players to travel to Pakistan but if their efforts do not yield results they will have a new draft in place to replace these players.
The board has also decided that if no International players travel to Pakistan, they would play the finals with local players.
What next?
Najam Sethi, who was lauded for the successful completion of the first year of the PSL sounds very optimistic of bringing International players to Pakistan. However, if FICA recommendations are anything to go by, the International players could find themselves in a real muddle.
It could also happen, that the final could have no overseas players, and all local players get to play in the historic match.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Cricket in Pakistan has taken a major hit ever since International cricket moved out of the country, and this has had an effect on the quality of players and the interests of the local people.
However, security of players is paramount, and the officials are well aware of this, and hence the PCB should work closely with both the FICA and local authorities if they harbour any hopes of getting the overseas players to Pakistan.
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