In the coming week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will take the final decision on holding all matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2019 in the country instead of the UAE. An emergency meeting has been convened for June 12 inviting all six franchise owners of the PSL. As the Emirate Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to launch its own Twenty20 league next year, the PCB fears its commercial interests may be hit by hosting the tournament in UAE a month after the Emirates League.

The PCB has been previously organising the PSL in the UAE in February and March. However, the ECB is considering holding its own league in December-January, so with a gap of only a month and a half between the two leagues, sponsors might invest in the PSL too. But if there was no gap between the two events, sponsors might not be interested in the latter.

In this situation, the PCB will have no option but to bring the entire event to Pakistan. All six franchises are also willing to play in here as it would be less expensive besides having a larger audience.

If the board decides to hold all matches in Pakistan then Lahore and Karachi are likely to host maximum number of matches. The two cities have already hosted a few matches of the league. Other venues capable of holding large cricketing events include the Pindi Stadium, Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad and the Multan Stadium.

If the security situation remains satisfactory, the next edition of PSL could delight Pakistanis, who are desperately waiting the revival of international cricket in Pakistan for nine years. Though West Indies, Sri Lanka, World XI, Zimbabwe and Kenya have played some T20 matches in Pakistan, the arrival of teams like England, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Africa will really herald the restoration of international cricket here.

The Ramzan Squash Championship for both junior and senior players held at the Punjab Squash Complex last week failed to attract a good number of players. Hardly 50 players participated in the event. All the matches were held at night due to Ramazan, and owing to the holy month it was not possible for players to arrive from other cities, especially Peshawar, where a large number of squash players resided.

Most of the players belonged to Punjab. The event was the second one organised in Lahore during Ramazan, as the Lahore Division Basketball Association held a tournament earlier this month.

After Ramazan, the Punjab Football Association (PFA) is considering starting a mega tournament for under-15 players. It will be the first event of the newly elected body of the PFA headed by Sardar Navid. In the first phase, all 37 districts of Punjab will compete and then divisional teams will be formed to play in the second phase.

The LCCA ground presents a picture of neglect owing to lack of maintenance. The grass is not fresh and water is also short for spraying. A number of nets fixed by cricket clubs are also damaging the ground due to the trespassing of cricketers.

Disappointingly, the association, headed by Shahraiz Rokhari, is showing no interest in resurrecting the infrastructure. Rokhari’s management assumed control last year from Khawaja Nadeem, but has so far failed to introduce any reforms for the betterment of the game.

Installation of floodlights at the ground is also in the doldrums. Though the PCB has formed a committee to monitor the conditions of various grounds and make suggestions for their improvement, there has been no progress in this regard.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2018