PSL final to be held in Lahore

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, after in-depth consultations with federal and provincial security agencies, here on Monday accorded approval to the holding of the PSL final in Lahore.

The decision came during a meeting of the Provincial Cabinet Committee on Law and Order. The decision was taken after Shahbaz Sharif consulted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Addressing the meeting, Shahbaz said foolproof security would be ensured for the PSL. He directed the cabinet committee to make best arrangements and review security and other measures on daily basis. He said he would personally monitor the progress regularly.

Shahbaz said the decision was taken in best interest of the country and appealed to the nation to support the government efforts for the success of the final. He ordered the implementation of the designed security plan at every cost and said an effective monitoring system should be evolved for the purpose.

Shahbaz said no conspiracy of enemy would be allowed to succeed, adding that nefarious designs of terrorists and their facilitators would be foiled jointly. “We will come up to the expectations of the masses,” he hoped.

There are reports that 10,000 policemen, along with the army and paramilitary troops, would be stationed to perform the special security duties. Later, PSL Chairman Najam Sethi, talking to the media said: "The nation has shown its passion and unity. The Pakistani nation is peaceful and would not be blackmailed."

Expressing the hope for the revival of cricket in Pakistan after the successful staging of the PSL final, Sethi said: "After the success of the PSL, we will hopefully send a positive message to the world and cricket will come back to Pakistan. Cricket is the heartbeat of the Pakistani nation."

Meanwhile, the city district government and security departments will in a day or two give details of the route for the fans to enter the stadium and the areas reserved for parking. But one thing is certain: if there is a no shuttle bus to the stadium then the fans will have to walk two to three kilometres to reach the venue.

What one would now hope for is that the tickets would all be sold to the fans and not given away to sponsors and corporate.

A PCB official said there would be no free passes as directed by the chief patron of the board. A ticket booth would be setup at the Gaddafi Stadium and cricket fans can also buy these online too. More information on this will be available soon.

According to latest reports, a total of 56 players have agreed to visit Pakistan but Chris Gayle, Mahela Jayewardene and Kumar Sangakkara are not among those. Reports also suggest that the PCB have decided to increase the salaries of the overseas players by $10,000 to $50,000 to make it to Lahore to feature in the final.

Earlier, the franchises had arrived at the decision after the management apprised them about the security situation in the country. PSL’s second draft has been delayed till March 4 when new players would be offered to the two finalists. The list of foreign players, who have agreed to play in Lahore, is given below. They would replace the international players in the final, if they refuse to visit Lahore.

Daren Sammy, Chris Jordan, Rohm Mustafa, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tino Best, Galan Rupasinghe, Devon Thomas, Jade Dernbach, Kausal Silva, Jason Mohammad, Sean Williams, Owais Shah, Soumya Sarkar, Shane Shillingford, Yasir Arafat, Dawlat Zadran, Chamara Kapugedera, Craig Ervine, Nawroz Mangal, Graeme Cremer, Suleman Benn, Danushka Gunathilaka, Anamul Haq, Brendan Taylor, Farveez Maharoof, Miguel Cummins, Rayad Emrit, Rashid Khan, Kusal Mendis, Dawid Malan, Ashar Zaidi, Max Waller, Steven Taylor, Morne van Wyk, Azharullah, Sachitra Senanayake, Akeal Hosein, Dania Hyatt, Seekuge Prasamia, Darren Stevens, Jeevan Mendis, Sean Ervine, Peter Trego, Alex Wakely, Shahriar Nafees, Richard Levi, Joshua Cobb, Milinda Siriwardana, Phil Mustard, Nildull Duna, Anuk Fernando, Fidel Edwards, Azeem Rafiq, Elton Cligumbura, Asghar Stanikzai, Krishmar Santolde.