ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has done the right thing by deciding to organise its own Twenty20 league under the banner of Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The announcement has already managed to attract big names from the major Test playing nations and the best in the business had already been onboard with the PCB such as former ICC head Haroon Lorgat, who’s services have been hired as chief consultant of the league, which is a very positive step and in the best interest of Pakistan’s future hopes of return of international cricket. Nobody can deny the fact that Lorgat still enjoys a lot of respect in cricket playing nations and he can utilise his abilities to sign international starts for the PSL and can convince Test playing nations to tour Pakistan.
PCB chairman Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf should be given all the credit for doing wonders for Pakistan as he is the man who brought the board out of international isolation as there was a time in the previous PCB chairman Ijaz Butt’s tenure when Pakistan was put into a corner and none of the teams wanted to play against Pakistan. Ijaz spoiled all the good relations Pakistan enjoyed with different countries and the worst example of his mismanagement was giving statements against the ECB who had provided Pakistan their grounds and helped them in hosting Australia but things had changed rapidly since the arrival of Zaka.
In his less than two years in office, Zaka has changed Pakistan cricket team’s fortunes and has managed to arrange a bilateral series against arch-rivals India after a gap of five years. The PSL project, if started successfully, is bound to be a huge success as it is offering lucrative contracts which will certainly attract foreign players.
Although Federation of International Cricket Association (FICA) has tried to derail things by advising its members against signing for the PSL, but FICA will soon find it impossible to refrain its members from signing for the PSL as cricket is bread and butter of the players. They can turn down a chance to tour to Pakistan while representing their countries, but they cannot afford wasting such a golden opportunity to earn big from the PSL.
Pakistan is as save for all kinds of sporting activities as any other major cricket playing nation. Pakistanis love cricket and they respect international players more than any other nation. So there is no point of thinking about negative things. The players, who will sign the PSL, will realise this fact and feel as comfortable as they can feel in any other part of the world.
Pakistanis were long deprived of watching their beloved players playing on their own home grounds and now the PSL will provide them the opportunity of watching their own stars as well as international players in action.
The PSL has also started to muster huge support from past greats such as the South African great Mike Proctor, who has spoken bravely and lend his all-out support to PSL. It is the national and moral duty of all the concerned persons and departments to lend a helping hand to the PCB in successful organising of the League as it is the need of the hour to send a positive signal to world community.