DUBAI: Though it is difficult to forget the scar left by the Islamabad United’s players on Pakistan Super League (PSL), yet the third edition of the event underway in Dubai promises another month of exciting cricket.
A weak Islamabad United’s management during the second edition let their leading players including the most talented Sharjeel Khan play in the hands of match-fixing syndicate as a result leaving a bad impact on a league that otherwise promised everything during the last two years.
From brandishing talent of the likes of Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Fakhar Zaman, the PSL has given Pakistan a whole new financial horizon. From nowhere Pakistan cricket has turned into a mini industry with all the promise and hopes to become bigger business venture in years to come. In just three seasons the cricket in Pakistan has been given a totally new meaning.
For the first time during the last three decades I have seen leading Pakistan players more interested in getting fit for the PSL rather than showing form and fitness for domestic cricket. Demerits of this newly attained enthusiasm aside, the PSL has in fact inducted this new sense of fitness amongst the leading Pakistani aspirants eager not only to get selected in the teams for next edition but to stay fit and ready for the whole season. Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali and Shadab are the few who could have played the Regional One-Day Cup but decided to attain 100 percent fitness by the time the third edition springs into action.
This new sense of attaining fitness also helps national team members get ready for international cricket.So the PSL has given players’ approach towards the game a totally new look. Top Pakistani cricketers who were earning in rupees now have become multimillion dollar commodity, knowing well that form and fitness is the key to their staying at the forefront.
Amongst Pakistanis living at home and abroad, the PSL has changed the sense of game’s following. Even though the league carries the names of major cities of the country, the inclusion of the best international cricketers and its Dubai connections has given it an international flavor.
Dubai has made elaborate arrangements to project the PSL. Big TV screens at the Dubai International Airport and elsewhere in the city welcome guests for the league. So one good thing in staging PSL matches in this desert venue is making it an event of interest for the foreigners landing in the city of shopping paradise.
One must give credit to Najam Sethi and his board for putting the PSL back on the track from the major shock it received last year. In a year time things are back to normal. This time around there is a tight check on the players’ movements. The fate met by the likes of Sharjeel, Khalid Latif and Nasir Jamshed has already sent ripples in the mind of players and officials making it almost impossible for them to even think of making one wrong move.
There is also a lesson to learn for the PCB for what has happened last year and that is to prefer only those franchise owners who have the basic know-how of the game. Sadly in Islamabad United case that was not kept in the mind.
