Najam Sethi finalizing deal to have PSL final in Lahore

Pakistan’s cricket chief Najam Sethi is on the verge of finalizing a deal that will ensure that the 2017 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Sethi, who has been advocating the return of international cricket back to Pakistan went on to state that the Interior Minister had given him clearance for the deployment of security forces for the PSL should the approval be given.

Since 2009, Pakistan has seen very little international cricket play in the country given the massive political unrest within the country. However, in recent times, Sethi has gone on to underline the security as world class. Only Zimbabwe has toured the state of Pakistan since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

“I have met Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and he was happy with the decision of holding the PSL final in Lahore,” Sethi said.

“The minister has promised all kinds of security and the Punjab government is also ready to help us, so, we have decided to cancel the booking of Dubai stadium to hold the final in Lahore,” he added.

Sethi also added that the proposal of playing the West Indies will be subject to a delegation to take a view of the security arrangements made. “We have proposed these dates for the West Indies’ security delegation because ICC Task Force on Pakistan chairman Giles Clarke will also be in Pakistan during those days.

He also added that it would be better if the Windies toured in the presence of former ECB chairman Giles Clarke. “It will be better for us if the West Indies delegation visits Lahore on Jan 17-18 in the presence of Clarke, who is also working on reviving international cricket in Pakistan,” he said.

Sethi also went on to deny the statements made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the scale of sports events happening in the country. “I have no idea about such views of the prime minister. As the interior minister has happily allowed us to hold the final in Lahore and the Punjab government is also committed to the smooth conduct of the final, we take it as an important step forward in reviving cricket in Pakistan,” he said.