Lahore blast: what does it mean for the PSL final?
A blast on Monday shook Lahore’s Mall Road, claiming lives and injuring many others; the deaths have hurt everyone in the country and the loss of important lives can never be neglected.
However, what cannot be ignored is that the final of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) was to be held in just a few weeks’ time at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium — nearly six kilometres away from the blast site.
PSL chairman Najam Sethi, on many occasions, had said that foreign players participating in the league have signed contracts which abide them to play the final in Lahore, however, they can always quote security as an issue.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is already suffering from the extra financial expenditure that they have to bear for hosting home matches in the UAE, and this blast will have drastic consequences to the prospect of cricket returning to the country.
As things stand, the verdict on whether PSL final will be staged in Lahore or not stands in the hands of the PCB. However, PSL chairman Sethi has time and again said that if the security situation is not clear, then the final might be moved out of Pakistan.
NCA arrest two men in relation to PSL corruption case
Two men in relation to corruption in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have been arrested in the United Kingdom by the National Crime Agency. Both men have been released on bail until April 2017 pending further enquiries, the NCA said in a statement on Tuesday (February 14).
"Two men in their thirties have been arrested by National Crime Agency officers in connection with bribery offences as part of an ongoing investigation into international cricket match spot-fixing," the statement read.
PCA against England players going to Pakistan for PSL final
England's Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) has advised their members not to make themselves available for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final on March 5th should it be held in Lahore as currently planned.
After a suicide attack in the city on Monday (February 13) which killed 13 and wounded more than 80, the participation of foreign players has been cast into further doubt after the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) last month advised players not to participate.