PSL T20 coming to Pakistan in 2020: 250 foreign players from 15 countries registered so far

LAHORE: Wasim Khan, chief executive officer, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has said the whole of Pakistan Super League (PSL) will come to the country this season, revealing that 250 foreign players from 15 countries have registered for the draft which is taking place for the PSL 2020 on Friday (today).

Speaking at a session A Brand Call PSL on the concluding day of the AdAsia 2019 at Alhamra here on Thursday, Wasim said that with concerted efforts, the Pakistan Super League has been made a truly global product. He started his talk while narrating the 2009 attack on Sri Lankan cricket team by gunmen in Pakistan and said repercussions of the incident were huge for the nation and also the game of cricket as the Pakistan cricket was alienated from the world for a long period. Explaining the repercussions of the attack, the CEO PCB said countries refused to come to play due to security issues which also caused huge detrimental effects on the country’s finances. “We lost a generation of young kids who had no hero to look up to and had no one to follow,” he said while explaining as to how passionate the Pakistani nation is about cricket. He said because of concerted efforts, Pakistan managed to move forward and bring international cricket, particularly test cricket, back to the country in 10 years.

Talking about the PSL, he said sports including cricket were now an entertainment industry. “Cricket is now very much a byproduct,” he said, adding that people go for cricket, food, music and entertainment. He said cricket did that all as it brought happiness back and brought people together.

“Cricket stirs the soul of this nation,” Wasim said and added it was very important for Pakistan to bring the PSL in. About its setup, he said six teams were set up, of which each positioned itself in a certain way. For example, the Islamabad United positioned itself as a team of the nation. He said the PSL not just brought cricket back but also music, food and all great things the Pakistani nation loves.

With the example of Umer Khan, he said the PSL actually made dreams of many youngsters a reality. This young boy (Umer Khan) had played cricket on streets and the PSL provided an opportunity to him to come on the world stage, he added.