PCB to host PSL final in Lahore with special facilities for finalist franchisees

Pakistan Cricket Board executive committee head and chairman of the Pakistan Super League, Najam Sethi is inching to host the PSL final in Lahore next year. He requested to the government to look into the matter and to start a process for the purpose.

After the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March 2009, Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe, the first full member nation to tour Pakistan in May 2015 for an ODI series but no ICC officials were present.

Sethi was quoted in a report from ESPNCricinfo saying, “All systems being put in place. We are in the process of signing up top foreign players who are ready to play in Lahore if their team gets into the final. All we need are ten top foreign players. If there are some foreign players among the finalists who are not prepared to play in Lahore, we will have an arrangement with others who don’t make it to the finals, and facilitate the finalist franchisees to select from that pool of players who are available to play in Lahore.”

He is confident that the country is capable of providing enough security to the players and pointed out that it is just a matter of 24 hours. “Look, it is only a question of one day in Lahore. We can organise fool-proof security. The teams can be flown in and out within 24 hours. We have four armoured buses for transportation and the Punjab police have already demonstrated its efficiency in this regard when Zimbabwe toured last year,” Sethi added.

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He also lamented the government had successfully uprooted terrorist groups from Punjab and he believes that the PSL final at Lahore can be a message to the whole world on how securely they can host international matches.

“Most importantly, the government has succeeded in uprooting most terrorist groups from Punjab. This fact is not lost on the ICC members. Foreign teams will come to Pakistan step by step. Ireland is ready to visit on the right financial terms because Zimbabwe showed the way. The West Indies were in discussions with us but pulled back when the Gulshan bomb went off,” he said.

“If we can demonstrate a successful PSL final in Lahore the message will go out loud and clear that at least short tours in one venue are possible. I personally think that by next year we should be able to hold T20 and ODI matches in Lahore or Karachi with foreign teams,” he concluded.