The cricket fans finally received a good news when Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif gave a go-ahead to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to hold the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Qadhafi Stadium on March 5.

The final announcement from the government came just six days before the event as the issue had been the subject of speculation in the press after a suicide bomb blast in Lahore.

PSL Chairman Najam Sethi had initially announced on Feb 20 that Lahore would be the venue for the final.

The Punjab government held several meetings to monitor the security situation in the backdrop of a fresh wave of terrorism in each province of the country, including Lahore. The recent suicide bomb blast in Lahore had forced the provincial government to review the security situation.

It is indeed a bold decision both from the PSL and the Punjab government to hold the final in Lahore, showing a determination of the government that it is ready to face the challenge.

It is believed that the successful holding of the final of PSL’s second edition will pave the way for bringing back international cricket to Pakistan which had been suspended in 2009 after the militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

The rates of tickets for the PSL final are quite high. The rate of minimum ticket for only a couple of enclosures is Rs500. The maximum rates will be Rs12,000, Rs8,000 and Rs4,000.

Sixty upcoming squash players from all over the country have gathered in Lahore to compete in the national junior championship.

The Punjab Squash Association (PQA) is holding the event and has also announced a cash prize of Rs500,000 for the upcoming talent.

The competition for boys in the age categories of U-19, 17, 15, and U-11 will be held throughout the upcoming week.

The PQA has also announced holding the first league on the pattern of the Pakistan Super League in April to promote the game on professional basis. Heavy cash prizes will be offered to players.

It will be the first event of its kind in squash in Pakistan and the PQA deserves appreciation for taking such a giant leap.

Pakistan had been ruling the squash for decades and produced legends like Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Roshan Khan and Gogi Allaudin. But since Jansher left the international arena about 10 years back, Pakistan has been struggling in the game.

Though the Punjab government has been claiming for the last couple of years that a huge sports infrastructure is being developed in the province, not even a single structure could be completed so far.

In a recent press briefing, Punjab’s steering committee sports chairman MNA Hanif Abbasi claimed that 102 grounds were being developed in schools, 66 in various cities while 50 gymnasiums of international standard were also being built. Apart from this, at least 10 e-libraries were also being built, the MNA said.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will soon inaugurate 25 gymnasiums. Though it is a huge task to build so many grounds, much bigger job is to make these infrastructures available to players instead of keeping them under the lock to give it only to the favourites.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017