HBL PSL final all set for Lahore sans foreign stars

DUBAI: On Sunday, the HBL Pakistan Super League authorities sought a meeting with overseas players featuring in the Twenty20 league here.

They had a one-point agenda: to convince the players to play the March 5 PSL final in Lahore.

It turned out to be a futile exercise.

Sources told ‘The News’ on Sunday that the meeting didn’t even take place as the players, all of them, refused to attend it.

“The players were well aware that the meeting was about convincing them to play in Lahore. So they just told their franchise officials they are weren’t interested,” a source said.

Such is the mood among the troop of PSL’s overseas recruits especially in the aftermath of a fresh wave of bombings that killed dozens of people in many parts of Pakistan including Lahore.

But the authorities remain adamant about their plans of hosting the PSL final at Lahore’s iconic Gaddafi Stadium.

On Sunday, reports suggested that the country’s political and military top brass is backing the idea of having the PSL final on home soil rather than the offshore venue of Dubai.

For PSL authorities it’s a catch-22 situation.

Najam Sethi, the PSL boss, has been pushing for the finale to be held in Lahore. He managed to muster the support of federal, political and army leadership.

Just when things seemed to be falling in place, a series of bombings derailed the plans of staging the final in Lahore more so because Punjab’s capital itself was targeted twice by terrorists.

It did shake the authorities but fell short of forcing them to change their mind.

“The PSL final is all set for Lahore,” a well-placed source told ‘The News’. “It’s something that has the support of the country’s top brass which is why it would be executed in spite of all odds,” he added.

The odds stacked against the proposed March 5 final are heavy, to say the least.

The first issue is security. The authorities will come out with promises of presidential-level security arrangements but even that is unlikely to convince overseas players. Even if that factor is overlooked, there are real of fears that the issue could become a major logistical nightmare for its organisers.

Most of the TV production staff attached to the T20 league is non-Pakistani. It is understood that most of them are unwilling to travel to Pakistan. Then there are other issues like printing of tickets for which time is fast running out.

However, for people associated with the league no issue is big enough to stop a PSL final in Lahore.

“It’s much bigger than just a game of cricket,” Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain, told ‘The News’ here at the Dubai International Stadium.

“With or without foreign players, the PSL final should be held in Lahore. To those who don’t want such a thing to happen we have to send a message,” added Ramiz, currently attached with the PSL as its brand ambassador.

Ramiz admitted that a likely absence of foreign players will take the gloss off the final.

“Yes, the value of the final will take a hit. Yes without foreign players it will be like a domestic T20 match but there are more important matters than that. The thing is that we have to stand up to them (terrorists) and tell them that we will not be cowed by their acts of terrorism.”