After a successful completion of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20Cup in Rawalpindi, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf, informed the cricket frenzied nation over their plans of organizing a first ever Pakistan Premier League in the not too distant future. The chairman shared his views after the final match between Karachi Dolphins and Sialkot Stallions, where the latter emerged convincingly victorious by 8 wickets at a packed Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
“We are doing our best to bring international cricket back to Pakistan. We are quite positive about that and are also planning to host the PPL so that we can take the first step,” said Ashraf.
Almost twenty two thousand spectators witnessed the final on Sunday. The turnout gave a strong indication of the passionate sports following in this part of the region, who all expressed the desire of watching the national team play in their home country,
Pakistan has not conducted any international series since 2009, after the gunmen attack on Sri Lankan team bus. Despite the visiting players being rescued safely, the terrifying incident forced the ICC to discard Pakistan from hosting international cricket.
"The discipline shown by the fans prove that we deserve international cricket and the successful event with immaculate security proves that we can host international cricket," said Shoaib Malik, who lead the winning team from front.
Former Pakistani batsman, Javed Miandad, also hailed the successful arrangement of the event and hopes that this will encourage international teams to change their views about Pakistan.
The security arrangements being made during the one-week long tournament were very stringent. Each visitor was thoroughly checked and scanned before entering the venue. Approximately thirteen thousand policemen were deployed to maintain safe measures.
Malik Matloob, who is a senior police officer and was deployed at the venue, said that the peaceful ending of the event reflects the security strength of their department which can ensure the same for the international matches as well.
PCB has already engaged itself in restoring international cricket in Pakistan. In this regard, the board has invited Bangladesh for a short series but the delay in their response still shows their reluctance. However, other efforts have been made with former wicket-keeper, Rashid Latif, volunteering to help the board to bring in a World XI.
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