PHOTO: AFP
Walking is good for health and the Pakistan Cricket Board and the security agencies took the adage too seriously during the ongoing Pakistan Super League, which kicked off on Thursday with a phenomenal opening ceremony (the jury is divided on that) and a nail-biter at the National Stadium of Karachi.
Quetta started their title defence, powered by Azam Khan, with a victory against two-time champions Islamabad United, and the nearly last-over finish did help soothe the hurt that the opening ceremony caused, which most Pakistanis think was a little short of inspiring.
The out-of-sync lip-sync by artists who performed at the opening ceremony, the near-silence on TV of the otherwise roaring crowd, the long and silent breaks between performances tried their best to ruin the show for PSL’s fifth edition, but a sumptuous opening encounter did make up for it.
Coming back to the security measures taken for this year’s PSL, which is taking place in Pakistan in its entirety for the first time in the tournament’s four-year long history, the blockages and the long walks for the fans towards the stadium were tiring but to witness history unfold right before their eyes, the price was not too much to ask for.
A fully packed stadium was a witness to the fact that Pakistanis were missing the sport-tainment that they were deprived of for a good long 10 years.
International cricket and PSL have returned to Pakistan, but what now is the question?
If you’ve taken the long walk to the stadium to watch a cricket match in Lahore, Karachi or any other stadium in Pakistan, you can understand the effort the PCB had to put in in-order to bring cricket to Pakistani crowds’ front door.
It wasn’t easy and if you think that the process of return of international cricket has completed, then you are wrong, the process has just started.
The PCB is done with the pre-return phase where they had to convince teams to visit by first showing them the blueprint of security in the form of live matches. Now, they are going through the phase where international cricket has returned and they need to market and sell it to the crowd like hot cakes.
Pakistanis have forgotten what cricketing entertainment looks and feels like. It is that acquired taste which the Pakistanis have lost the buds for. They need to be brought back into the stadiums through innovative ways and not the usual ‘cricket is back so you should be back in the stadium’ strategy.
PCB has passed one test, they have brought cricket back to Pakistan, but their next test demands them to seize the opportunity and strike the iron when it is hot. Instead of waiting for the crowd to magically fill the stadiums, PCB needs to pull them in and give them an experience which makes them want to come back again and again.
PCB needs to be proactive now rather than reactive in order to reap the full benefits of the return of cricket to Pakistan. It is about time that return of cricket in Pakistan becomes productive for the PCB rather than an all-investment, no-return endeavour.
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