Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal on Wednesday claimed that upto 98 per cent of foreign cricketers are ready to come to Pakistan for the playoffs and finals of the 2018 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The country's flagship T20 league, which kicks off on Feb 22, will see its playoffs and the final played in Lahore and Karachi respectively.
Foreign players, in the past, have shown great reluctance in visiting Pakistan owing to the country’s volatile security conditions.
However, that reluctance waned significantly in 2017 when a bunch of international players visited Pakistan, first for the PSL final and then for the World XI vs Pakistan series.
Later in the year, Sri Lanka also visited Pakistan, reiterating the Pakistan Cricket Board’s stance that the situation in Pakistan is now under control and conducive for cricket.
Kings owner Iqbal, during the launching ceremony of the team's official kit, delivered more good news to Pakistani cricket fans, saying that all the foreigners on his team’s roster have agreed to travel to Pakistan if their team qualifies
"Six of our seven players are ready to come and play in Pakistan [from the beginning]. Eoin Morgan, who has commitments to other leagues, [is the sole exception]. He will be coming late and will be leaving early."
"This is good news for all of us that players have agreed to come here and we hope everything stays well," he added.
Iqbal claimed that other franchises have had similar success in convincing their international talent to play in Pakistan, saying: "Overall, 98pc of the players have agreed to come to Lahore and Karachi. Some are left and hopefully they will also agree soon."
Captaincy role for Imad Wasim explained
Iqbal also commented on the selection of the franchise’s captain, Imad Wasim, explaining why the team chose a newcomer such as him to lead the side when far more experienced players options were available.
"In the last two seasons, we changed captains several times so now the management has decided that there should be a young captain who can stay with us for a long and can prove to be helpful, not only for us but for the national team too," he said.