HBL PSL-5 vital for resumption of worldwide cricket in country

With the fifth edition of HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 just around the corner, the level of excitement in this cricket-mad nation continues to surge every day.

As many as 34 matches will be played over 32 days, but the fact that these contests will be held in four cities - Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi - adds to the fervour.

Wasim Khan, the Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, believes the upcoming edition will take the game to more and more audiences in the country, which, in turn, will help in normalising the staging of top-flight cricket in the country. "The easy thing for us could have been to host HBL PSL 2020 matches in just Lahore and Karachi, but we wanted to take this league wider as we were bringing it to Pakistan for the first time," Wasim said in an interview.

"We want to make the game accessible to fans all over the country so they can watch their heroes in action and this edition is going to be a catalyst for it," he said, adding: "By next year, we want to be in a position to add a couple of more venues. We are looking to develop more and more venues which provides us an opportunity to take the game around the country."

Wasim said, "We are looking at Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, which hosted the National T20 Cup and needs a little upgradation after which it can be an international venue, and Hyderabad, for which we are working with Sindh government for it upgradation."

The HBL PSL has played a vital role in the complete resumption of international cricket in the country. After eight HBL PSL matches in Karachi last year, Sri Lanka toured Karachi for a three-match ODI series in September and returned for the second of the two-match Test series in the metropolitan city in December.

Over the past few months, Rawalpindi's Pindi Cricket Stadium has also been included in the roaster of venues which have hosted international cricket in the recent years and it will host eight matches. With South Africa expected to tour Pakistan in late March for a three-match T20I series, the PCB Chief Executive revealed that he had pitched Rawalpindi as a venue for the matches to Cricket South Africa.

Wasim said, "The tour of South Africa is very much a waiting game now and by the end of the month we should have a clear position. Their head of security is expected in Pakistan during the initial games of the HBL Pakistan Super League. He has all the security plans for each of the different venues."

"Lahore and Karachi venues have been diluted because we have been playing our entire cricket here and because of that the wickets here are also suffering. We now have Rawalpindi as a venue available," he said, adding: "For me, it makes sense to go there and play the three matches. I have suggested Rawalpindi as a venue to South Africa and they are comfortable with the suggestion."

Talking about the PCB Cricket Committee, Wasim said: "It is a new-look, a new-feel cricket committee. We are meeting on 19 February a day before the PSL in Karachi and we will put down three more meetings in the diary so we are very clear on the direction we are taking. We have revamped the Cricket Committee after Misbah left that group. It was very important for us to streamline it. I was filling in the role of the chairman of the committee after Mohsin Khan decided to stand down. It is never good governance for any organistaion when CEO is also a chair of such a committee."

"The cricket committee was always set up as an advisory committee. It always had a strong sway and strong rationale for why it was set up. It will provide wide-ranging and firm recommendations to the chairman, which he will take very seriously as it is the group which has the expertise. The issues which are being discussed in this committee are very much relevant to the people of Pakistan and to Pakistan cricket," Wasim said.