The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 final kicked off this evening with displays of paragliding at the Gadaffi stadium enthralling the crowd before different performers took the stage to entertain the audience.
Actors Ahmed Ali Butt and Ayesha Omer are hosting the ceremony which is topping off the tournament before Peshawar Zalmi face off against Quetta Gladiators in the much anticipated tournament final.
Singer Ali Zafar performed his PSL song ‘Ab Khel Jamay Ga’ surrounded by traditional dancers. The performance was made all the more special as he had earlier announced he would not be performing at the ceremony. Fakhir followed his act singing the old hit ‘Tere Bina Dil Na Lagay’.
The Peshawar squad took a round of the stadium before the band Overload came out to perform. Band frontman Farhad Humayun took the opportunity to address the resilience of the country saying “we will continue playing cricket here.”
“We will continue playing our music here, and our families and kids will go to parks and enjoy themselves,” he said, before chanting Lal Shahbaz Qalandarand and making his way to the drum set.
Humayun’s interlude was followed by Ali Azmat singing Junoon hits ‘Yaro Yehi Dosti Hai’ and ‘Jazba Junoon’. The highly charged crowd chanted slogans and the second reference of the night to the terror attack in Sehwan was made after Azmat sang ‘Laal Shehbaz Qalandar.’
Once the performers were done, PSL chairman Najam Sethi came to the makeshift stage in Gadaffi stadium to address the crowd. He said the fans had proved that Pakistan was a peaceful nation and people coming out to watch from every corner of the country was a sign of their determination to see cricket return to the country.
