ISLAMABAD: If not all, at least two matches of Pakistan Super League would be played in this country next year with authorities in Karachi and Lahore pledging to provide full security as Pakistan will follow PSL with Hockey and Squash League too, PCB executive committee Chairman Najam Sethi said.
Talking to PTV News, Sethi said on a separate subject that he hoped that an India-Pakistan cricket series would materialise in September this year and that the revenue of the series would go to PCB.
He sounded determined to bring the PSL to Pakistan Next year “where it belongs” and for this purpose PSL organizers were already in touch with some foreign players.
He said the authorities in Karachi and Lahore “are urging us to convince players to visit the country and they were ready to provide foolproof security”.
To a question, Sethi said, “I have discussed with Dean Jones and Kevin Pietersen about their views and there are positive signs.”
He hoped to arrange at least two matches of the PSL in Pakistan next year as the security situation is improving in Pakistan since government and army are doing their best to root out terrorism.
When asked about the financial side of the event, he said that there was a lot of money in Pakistan and people were ready to splash it on cricket. “This year we had five teams and believe me I am receiving many offers from the people who want to buy the sixth franchise,” he added.
He said, “It is a win-win situation for Pakistan. We need to invest something to earn in future and signs look brighter for the PSL team owners.
“All the franchise owners are more than happy and they are ready to splash more money. The successful organization has multiplied the value of their brand,” he added.
While talking about chances of India-Pakistan series, Sethi didn’t sound very positive, saying: “It is sad that two of the giants of Asia are not playing bilateral series.”
“First of all India owes us our two home series and then we will tour India. We are ready to play our home series anywhere (UAE, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh) and the ball is in India’s court. I hope there may be a series between India and Pakistan in September 2016. It will be our series and all the revenue will go to Pakistan Cricket Board,” he added.
