LAHORE - Former ICC umpire Mian M Aslam, along with North Zone president Masood Anwar, Sunday led 3000 club cricketers’ protest against the Punjab government’s step to demolish historical Iqbal Parks cricket ground.
Around 3000 club cricketers of 26 North Zone clubs protested against the Punjab government’s step of demolishing Iqbal Parks cricket ground just for a lake project and demanded the government to stop the project to save cricket.
Talking to The Nation, Mian Aslam, who is also Iqbal Parks sports committee president, said historical Iqbal Parks ground was established in 1890 which had honour to produce four PCB chairmen and seven Pakistan cricket captains including Abdul Hafeez Karadar, Fazal Mehmoood, Imtiaz Ahmad, Salim Malik, Aamir Sohail, Mudassar Nazar, Inzamamul Haq and many Test and first class cricketers.
“Iqbal Parks ground has great contributions as it always kept on providing big names to Pakistan cricket but the ill treatment of Punjab government with this historical ground has almost destroyed cricket of the capital city of Punjab. There is a dire need to establish more cricket grounds and provide state-of-the-art facilities to club cricketers to revive the game in the city as well as in the country but giving place of Iqbal Park ground to Lake Project is very harmful for Pakistan cricket and we highly condemn this step.
“If our genuine demands to save cricket are not fulfilled, we will move to Punjab Assembly and put all on our cricket kits on fire and won’t stop our youngsters to get involved in bad activities instead of getting engaged in healthy cricket activities,” he added.
“We want to revive ground and want 14 clubs to continue their net practice in the ground. If cricket activities are continued at historical Iqbal Parks ground, cricket of the city will flourish by leaps and bounds and Pakistan cricket will get more big names to serve the country in great style,” Mian Aslam concluded.