Cricket is a religion in the sub-continent and extremely popular like baseball in the USA. The Pakistan Super League is a copy of the Indian Premier League. The league hosts T20 Cricket matches. The PSL is conducted in the UAE as the atmosphere in Pakistan with all around terror attacks is not conducive to hold games. This year also the PSL has conducted the tournament in UAE.
The Pakistan board has now decided that the final of the tournament would be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Foreign players like Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakarra, and Manila Jayawardene have refused to play at Lahore despite hefty sums of money being offered.
The international players were offered foolproof security, but they did not accept the Pakistan cricket boards offer. The final is slated for 05 March.The absence of 8 foreign players will affect the credibility of the tournament.
PSL at UAE
Cricket matches with foreign teams are not played in Pakistan after a terrorist hit squad attacked the Sri Lanka team during a test match at Lahore in 2009. Six police personnel and an equal number of Sri Lanka cricketers were injured in the firing. No foreign team has toured Pakistan since then, and all home matches of the Pakistan cricket team are played at the three stadiums in the UAE at Sharjah, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. All PSL matches are also held at these venues.
Match at Lahore
The chairman of the PSL body Najam Sethi has reiterated that despite the Lahore terror attack on Monday in which 14 were killed, the final would still be played at Lahore. He has conceded that the foreign players may not play but again insisted that the match would be held in Lahore.Sethi wants the league to be shifted to Pakistan ultimately, but he expects this to happen after 2/3 years.
In the meantime, preparations are in full swing at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. A special set of 14 rooms is being built at the stadium itself to accommodate the foreign players if any decide to come. The PSL has offered each of them $20000 to play the final at Lahore.
The US has Pakistan on its watch list, and it will watch the conduct of the match and related terror activity as well.
