Saj Sadiq previews the Pakistan Super League as the country aims for international cricket to return to its shores
Given the rather sad and shambotic history of mismanagement in Pakistan’s cricket affairs,the news of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s initiative to set up its own version of the lucrative and popular Twenty20 League model was initially met with a lot of scepticism in 2015.
There was good reason for such cynicism as Pakistan cricket’s recent history had involved some unsavoury and mishandled episodes of corruption and, to make matters worse, international cricket had come to a standstill in the country due to the tragic attack on the visiting Sri Lankan squad in 2009 in Lahore.
It was therefore nothing short of a modern-day miracle that a tournament of the stature of the Pakistan Super League was conceived, planned and executed in UAE in 2016 with great fanfare and success.
For the average Pakistani cricket fan, instead of marvelling with envy at images of the Indian Premier League being played across the border, or the Caribbean Premier League or indeed the Big Bash, there was now a chance to feel proud about something which they could call their own, albeit still predominantly played on foreign soil.
Regardless of any reservations about where it was being played, the Pakistan Super League quickly caught the imagination of cricket supporters around the world and the 2017 edition laid to rest any notions of temporary success due to the novelty value associated with such competitions. The second edition of the Pakistan Super League proved that it was not a one season wonder and was here to stay.
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