Daily Times

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that there was a need to restore the lost glory of all sports and re-live the golden era of the country’s supremacy in the fields of hockey and cricket.

Addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of up-gradation work at the Gaddafi Stadium here at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters, he said it could be achieved by ensuring merit and right restructuring of the Men’s cricket team, adding that the national cricket team should regain its lost stature in the international cricket.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Senior Minister Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb, parliamentarians, government functionaries and PCB officials were also present. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stressing to ensure merit in the team selection, said that there should be no room for nepotism and jobbery. The PM said he had complete faith in Federal Interior Minister/PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi to put the national cricket on the winning track with his utmost dedication and excellent work ethic.

Shehbaz Sharif said the up-gradation of Gaddafi stadium on modern lines was a positive initiative, adding that: “Our cricket stadiums must meet the international standards”.

Lauding PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi for his initiative of bringing the cricketing facilities at par with the standard, maintained by other countries, the prime minister expressed the hope that Mohsin Naqvi would complete the up-gradation of cricket stadiums with the same commitment and speed with which he completed various development projects in the province during his tenure as Punjab caretaker chief minister.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reminded the PCB chief to infuse a renewed spirit in the cricketing culture of the country to meet aspirations of cricket fans in the country.