The aftermath of PSL final

Was holding the final worth all the security risks?

He continued that this political scoring cost Quetta Gladiators four of their international players, which proved to be a setback for the team. Not only that, he said PCB paid $1000-$1500 to around 25-30 journalists to cover the event

The recent wave of terrorism perplexed the authorities and cricket lovers over the question that whether the final match for second edition Pakistan Super League (PSL) should be held in Lahore or not. After a lot of controversy, the final did take place in the metropolis, but the event left us with more questions to ponder.

Now that the league is over, we are still pondering the return of international cricket and the opportunity cost of holding such club level match in Lahore with five-tier security.

Not only that, the government of Pakistan and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) thought it was the best idea to lock down the entire city a few days before the match; and the area surrounding the cricket stadium two days before the match, making it a nightmare for the residents of the locality to move around.

Was it worth the effort? Or was it just another publicity stunt from the authorities so they could make money out of the cricket business? In a way, it was shooting two birds with a stone: to generate revenue and giving people and international community an illusion of security. These tactics of the authorities had left people furious and of course, without answers.

It has been a whole week, but people are still talking about the inconveniences caused to the local businesses, residents, along with the state machinery (the heavy contingents of police, army and Rangers) that were involved in making sure the four-hour match took place without any untoward incident.

In an editorial published in local media, Najam Sethi said that Lahore has been declared a ‘safe city’ for sports according to reports by international security experts who witnessed the final match. He also added that it had been announced that an ICC International Eleven is now set to visit Lahore and play a few matches in September.

Spending so much on security does not assure one of the fact that whether Lahore is safe or not. During the PSL final 12 District Police Officers (DPOs) were posted within the stadium boundaries; meaning 12 districts were without DPOs. If an untoward incident had taken place, who would be the one to blame?

It could be possible that cricket is a profit generating game for the authorities because the government is shutting the city down and deploying 1000s of security officials. Events like these are supposed to be a source for the thriving of local businesses and not only the national piggy bank.

Securing just the vicinity does not guarantee the security of the entire city or country. It sure was a development in the sports field, giving Pakistan a chance to host a match after the 2009 attack on Sri Lanka’s team. It gave Pakistan a chance after eight long years of isolation, which had taken a toll on the development of cricketing talent in the country.

Was this event a total fiasco? This is debatable because the objective of the authorities was to make money from the business, which they successfully did. However, the security and lives of the other 99 per cent of the people were put at risk.

State priorities changed after this event took a political turn. This was because the PSL Chairman Najam Sethi had promised to hold the final in Lahore and PCB had to. Thus, it was not just about the final or the safety of the people, but about the state’s ego.

DNA tried contacting PCB several times to get comments on the same, but no one was available to comment.

Former cricketer Javed Miandad said “PSL is an entertainment package and is a festival match. This cricket format is popular worldwide and Pakistan wanted to follow the trend too.”

Miandad said that the idea is just to enjoy the match, but what could have been done was to plan strategically in order to hold a match in a war-stricken country like Pakistan.

“International cricket cannot come back with one match. For the return of international cricket, a complete process must be followed,” he added while talking to DNA.

“International players want to enjoy life. It is Pakistanis who take a chance against our lives. People have political interests in this match, but if God forbid any mishap takes place, we will go 20 years back”.

He further stated that PSL is only family cricket. Holding a match in which hardly any international players participate and the A-category players like Kevin Pieterson, Tymal Mills and Luke Wright back out seems like a joke on the bigger picture.

He said said the tour of Zimbabwe team was better than PSL as it is not even recognised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). “Politics should be kept away from sports”, he added.

Similarly, sports journalist Mirza Iqbal Baig, while talking to DNA, said that it was a great risk holding the final amid all the security tension in the country. He further stated that this final was held because of Najam Sethi’s stubbornness; things took a political turn due to the fact that he had committed to organising the final in Lahore.

“The momentum that was built in Dubai during PSL matches has been disturbed,” Baig said.

“Billions of rupees were spent in organising the match and deploying the security forces at the risk of people’ lives”.

“God forbid if a blast had occurred in the city, cricket would not see its way to Pakistan in the next 5-8 years,” he added.

“The main objective of holding the final in the metropolis was to gain political points, to ‘please their masters’ and to prove to the people that they can be good organisers,” Baig said.

He continued that this political scoring cost Quetta Gladiators four of their international players, which proved to be a setback for the team. Not only that, he said PCB paid $1000-$1500 to around 25-30 journalists to cover the event, which is actually done by organisations who send journalists to cover events.

“This one match does not bring international cricket home, from what it looks like no international teams would visit the country in the next one and a half year,” Baig added.

Despite all the controversy, PSL final was watched and enjoyed by many around the world. Even though the security is and will be a major issue until the security forces eliminate the last one of the terrorists; it can be said that cricket undoubtedly brings the nation together.