Pakistan’s World Cup winning skipper Imran Khan termed the idea to hold the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore “madness”, PTI reported on Monday.
The 64-year-old, who heads Pakistan’s main opposition party, Tehreek-e-Insaaf also questioned the kind of message the country would be sending out with closed roads around the Gaddafi Stadium along with heavy security
“The idea of having the PSL final in Lahore is madness to me. What message of peace will we send out in such conditions,” Khan was quoted as saying.
The report added that with the high amount of foreign representation in the PSL sides, the game would hold no significance to the future of Pakistan cricket.
Former Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, who organised the 1987 and 1996 World Cups in the country, also slammed the idea, “I think the risks involved in having the final at this time are high and the environment is just not right to take such a big risk,” Abbasi said.
Earlier, PSL chief Najam Sethi, who got the approval of the Punjab government, stated that the decision to host the final in Lahore stemmed from widespread public opinion, “I think deciding to have the PSL final is a message from the Pakistani people to the world that they will not be cowed down by terrorism and they are peace loving people. The final is being held here because the people wanted it in Lahore,” Sethi said.
Like Abbasi, Imran Khan also warned about the security situation in Pakistan, “If something God forbid happens, then it will put Pakistan cricket back by 10 years,” the former captain said.