LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) strategic planning committee Zafar Mahmood has urged the board to change its mindset if it wants to fill the stadiums for domestic matches.

The Wapda chairman, who is also a member of the PCB’s Board of Governors, also said the tainted duo of paceman Mohammad Asif and batsman Salman Butt — plying their trade for Wapda domestically — should return to international cricket if they perform well locally.

“The stadia need heavy investment to become fan-friendly,” Zafar told Dawn on Tuesday.

When informed that the gates of the Gaddafi Stadium here and the National Stadium in Karachi are closed for fans during domestic matches on the pretext of security, he called for the PCB to “change its mindset”.

“The PCB has to make heavy investment and I’ve instructed its marketing department to take steps to pull crowds to the stadiums,” he said.

“Domestic cricket has become notorious for matches being held in empty stadiums and that isn’t helpful to attract lucrative bids for television rights.

“The PCB should provide free drinks and create a family atmosphere at the stadiums as well as bringing in students from schools and colleges during domestic matches. It can also offer different prizes to the spectators through a raffle system.

“It’s an investment which will pay off in the end through television rights and advertisements.”

Zafar said a couple of meetings of the strategic plans were held but the feedback from the heads of the other sub-committees was not very encouraging.

Zafar went further by suggesting that coaches should be hired to bring school and college students to play on PCB grounds and be entertained with different packages.

With many stadiums in the country not even having proper facilities for players, it is hard to envisage much hope for Zafar’s ideas.

Filthy dressing rooms and toilets along with improper seating arrangements welcome players at local venues.

Zafar went far as saying that even the Gaddafi Stadium was not spectator-friendly.

“Spectators thronged the stadium when Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe last year only due to their love for the game,” said Zafar in reference to the Zimbabwe tour which saw international cricket return to the country for the first time since the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009.

“We need to upgrade the security measures at the Gaddafi Stadium. CCTV cameras and state-of-the-sart security gates have to be set up to ensure the spectators’ well-being.”

Last year, Zafar signed former Pakistan captain Salman along with fellow spot-fixing convict Asif for Wapda once their bans expired — and at a time when the PCB seemed reluctant to allow the duo to play domestic cricket.

“They had served their punishment and we were in need of big name players so we hired them,” Zafar said.

Salman and Asif, along with paceman Mohammad Amir, were caught in a ploy to bowl deliberate no-balls in the infamous Lord’s Test in 2010.

Amir has since returned to the national fold and was in the Pakistan side which won its first Test at Lord’s in 20 years when they beat England on Sunday to kick off their four-match series.

In a statement from London, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said both Salman and Asif too could return to the national team if they perform domestically.

Currently, Asif is currently in Norway to play in a local league there while Salman is in action during domestic tournaments.

“They’ve admitted their blunder and have advised Wapda players [during their lectures] to remain away from such activities,” Zafar said.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2016