DUBAI: Pakistan cricket chief Shaharyar Khan opened the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday, describing the glitzy Twenty20 event as key to paving the way for his country’s return to hosting international series.

Pakistan has been a no-go zone for all of their major rivals since a terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

The Pakistan city is due to host the PSL final on March 5 after all the qualifying games are completed in the UAE, the team’s home-from-home for international cricket for the last eight years.

“We are staging the second edition of the PSL with the aim of staging the final in Lahore on March 5,” PCB chairman Shaharyar said as he welcomed fans to the Dubai Stadium.

“The success of the PSL will open the gates for teams to start coming into Pakistan.”

Zimbabwe played a limited-overs series in 2015 but the likes of Australia, England, India and the West Indies have all stayed away from Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2017