ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan on Monday defended the decision to stage the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the UAE, saying the Board chose the foreign venue for the inaugural edition to attract world-class international players.

“If we hold the [first] PSL in Pakistan, we won’t be able to attract international players to make the event successful. That’s why we opted for the UAE. However, we have a plan to gradually shift the PSL to Pakistan,” Shaharyar told reporters.

“In the next PSL edition, we will hold one or two matches in Pakistan.”

The PCB chief said this during his visit to the Nomad Art Gallery where a show titled ‘Earth in My Bones’ by Sara Riaz Khan, his daughter-in-law, was in progress.

“Around 120 players have shown their interest to participate in the PSL, out of which some 24 players will be picked for the league,” stated the PCB chief.

The PSL, a Twenty20 league featuring five franchise teams, is scheduled to be held from Feb 4 to 24 next year in Dubai and Sharjah.

Commenting on the possibility of international cricket revival in Pakistan, Shaharyar said he was optimist that international cricket would soon return to the country.

“The military operation [against terrorists] is moving in the right direction, which gives us the hope that the menace of terrorism will be eliminated from our country.

“We are making efforts to revive international cricket in Pakistan. I hope in future the security situation in the country will improve further and [international] cricket will be restored.”

Responding to a query on the chances of trio of Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif returning to the field, the PCB chairman said the three players will “have to pass several stages” for re-starting their international career.

Talking about the Pakistan-India bilateral series scheduled for later this year in the UAE, Shaharyar said Pakistan was waiting for India’s response in this regard.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2015

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