Sethi, Misbah hope to bring PSL to Pakistan

Islamabad United bask in glory after taming Quetta Gladiators in inaugural final

KARACHI: A full house at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium watched Islamabad United tame Quetta Gladiators in the final of the inaugural Pakistan Super League on Tuesday night.

Though it seems a bit far-fetched, Pakistan’s cricket chiefs are hopeful that when the next final of the PSL takes place in February 2017, the venue will either be Lahore or Karachi.

Najam Sethi, the PSL chairman, said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will make all out efforts to stage the opening match and final of the second edition of PSL in Pakistan next year.

Sethi hailed the inaugural PSL as a huge success.

“Today it’s the victory of people of Pakistan - nobody has lost, its victory for everyone,” PSL chairman Najam Sethi said after Islamabad beat Quetta by six wickets in the final.

“The league has been a success and there are good chances some of the franchises will go close to the break even after the first edition. The PCB is also very close to breaking even,” he said.

United was rewarded with three of their players - Mohammad Sami, Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif - were drafted into Pakistan’s squad for next month’s World Twenty20 championship in India. Gladiators’ uncapped left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz has also been labelled as one of the players to watch out on spin-friendly wickets in India.

“You can see lots of youngsters coming up ... they are getting more chances to harness their skills and handle the pressure. That’s what IPL did for India, that’s what BPL did for Bangladesh,” Misbah-ul-Haq, Islamabad’s captain, said.

Sethi said he had spoken with England’s Kevin Pietersen about convincing player associations across the world to send cricketers to Pakistan for the second of the PSL.

“I promise you the way we have done the hard work, hopefully we will bring this league in Pakistan too,” Sethi said.

Misbah said foreign players got a mild taste of what it would be like to play in a Pakistan competition during their three-week stay in the United Arab Emirates, and hoped it will help bring international cricket back to Pakistan.

“This is one way you can build confidence of players coming from Australia, England, West Indies and Bangladesh,” he said. “When you get confidence and know from other players that Pakistan is a safer country, it will be possible for the Pakistan Cricket Board to bring back international cricket to Pakistan.”

Earlier, after a spectacular display of fireworks lit up the start of the final of the inaugural Pakistan Super League in Dubai, Dwayne Smith produced the cricketing equivalent of it, firing Islamabad to the title. He struck 73 off 51 balls, 52 of them through boundaries. Smith’s effort came after Quetta Gladiators had put up a challenging 174 with fluent half-centuries from Ahmed Shehzad and Kumar Sangakkara. Misbah, who had termed the PSL almost like a “World Cup” at the toss, sealed the victory with a flick past midwicket and sparked off wild celebrations.