Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan Super League chairman Najam Sethi on Tuesday met all the overseas players in the PSL in Dubai to brief them about the exhaustive security arrangements put in place in Lahore, which hosts the final of the tournament on March 5. The PCB has also drawn contingency plans in case some of the participants do not want to make the trip. In the last week of February, a player draft will be held so that the five franchises can top up their rosters, albeit with local talent. At the launch of the second season of the tournament in Dubai on Monday, Sethi confirmed the final would be at the Gaddafi Stadium. The PCB has received assurances from the Punjab government and other security agencies and is confident they can conduct the match without trouble.

The PCB has been trying to persuade foreign players to travel to Pakistan for a while now, having invested in four bulletproof buses, and have also been mulling the idea of flying the players in for the PSL final on the day of the match and immediately flying them out at the end of it. They are expected to stay at the National Cricket Academy. Sethi was confident the security arrangements for the PSL final would be ‘endorsed’ by the ICC and player associations even though the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association, in January, reported that “an accepted level of participant safety cannot be expected or guaranteed”.

PSL ambassadors Ramiz Raja and Wasim Akram – who was born in Lahore – implored the overseas players to stay on and play the final. “Lahore is a beautiful city, the perceptions about the place might be muddled, but I can assure you that the players who will travel will be making a priceless contribution to Pakistan cricket,” Raja said. “Once you taste the flavour of cricket in the country you will come to realise how welcoming the crowds are. I am hoping that cricket can be brought back to Pakistan, it will be a huge contribution to the emotions of the cricket fans in the country.”

Akram said: “Growing up I saw legends like Michael Holding and Sunil Gavaskar play in the stadiums, which was hugely inspiring. It is imperative that cricket returns to the country, Pakistanis are passionate about the game, my wife who is an Australian is staying in Karachi for the last four years and she is having a great time. Let me also remind you all that the government will do everything possible to ensure the safety of the players.” Akram explained the importance of bringing cricket back to Pakistan by recalling an incident from the 1996 World Cup, when the security situation in Sri Lanka was dire enough that Australia and West Indies did not travel to Colombo and forfeited their matches instead. A team comprising of six star players each from Pakistan and India travelled to the country to play a solidarity match and change perceptions,” he said. “We played a positive role in 1996 that was warmly welcomed in Sri Lanka.

Trust me, the foreigners who travel to Lahore for the final will be given heroic status in the country and their contribution will be remembered by Pakistanis for a long time, the passionate followers of the game will be hugely welcoming and thankful,” he added.

Another thing that may reduce the players’ perception of risk could be Giles Clarke’s comments about the situation in Lahore. He had visited the city in January as head of a Task Force to see if international cricket can be brought back to the country. Clarke is understood to have shared details of his trips to the member boards at the ICC meetings in Dubai over the weekend.