PSL- Cricket Comes Home​
Being born in Pakistan we crave for entertainment and what could be better than cricket! I just simply love cricket, being raised in a family where we follow cricket and cricket matches like a religious ritual, falling for cricket is not at all an unacceptable thing. From playing cricket with my Father, Uncles, and cousins every Sunday morning to the late night gatherings just to watch the nail biting cricket matches streaming live on television together cricket became my favorite sport. 


One thing that I always wanted was to go to stadium and watch playing Pakistan team on their home ground. But after the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan Cricket team in 2009, international cricket and cricket teams shunned us and closed their doors upon us. I must say it was a dark time for the cricket loving fans of Pakistan. People wanted to see our team play, we wanted our cricket team to grow, we wanted to nourish the rising talent and above all we wanted to bring stadium back to life and give this world a message that we Pakistanis are a peaceful and loving nation.
During this depressing time Chairman PCB came up with an initiative of PSL (Pakistan Super league). It’s based on 20 20 match format where players from all around the cricketing world will make a team. In the start when the first edition of PSL was played there were 5 teams, named after the big cities of Pakistan (Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad) but now there are 6 teams with the addition of Multan Sultan. All these teams were owned by the industrialists and business tycoons.

When the first edition was played, very few international players joined in and all the matches were played in UAE, but after the success of PSL season 1, PSL 2 was a star- studded event and the cricketing stars came to Lahore for finals. This was the revival of cricket back to my homeland.


I remember how much excited I was for PSL as it managed to become world’s 2nd biggest cricket league after IPL. But my happiness knew no boundary when the PSL season 2 finale was Announced to be played in Lahore. And being a Peshawar Zalmifan I was head over heels when Zalmi team was coming to Lahore to play Final. So I bought my tickets beforehand and went to the stadium to watch the match of Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators. I was absolutely thrilled to see the jam-packed stadium. The crowd was just not supporting their teams, they were cherishing the revival of cricket in the country and the success of this tournament.  The excitement the passion I saw at that day was unbeatable. 

All of the Lahore was shutdown, the roads were empty and the security arrangement were conducted very efficiently. People not just from Lahore but from all over Pakistan came to enjoy and support this event. I saw people parking their cars far away in Gulberg or Liberty Market and then walked on foot towards the Ghadaffi stadium. This was the level of excitement and thrill. 

The closing ceremony was exuberant and was conducted by Pakistani media stars. And when the match started it was a mark in the Pakistani sports history. After 8 long years it was the moment of joy for all of us. Absolutely stunned by their performance throughout the tournament, I was there to support Peshawar Zalmi. I must say both the teams played very well. The team spirits and morale was high and it was a thrilling match. And to my joy the Zalmi won the match too. I saw the crowd going head over heels. I saw the sportsmanship of the teams and how the wining team and supporters were cherishing the runner ups.

That day I was happy to see my country celebrate. I was happy to see my country and its people thriving. I was overjoyed to see the smile on everyone’s face and to hear the slogan of “Pakistan Zindabad.”
I remember watching PSL 2 in 2017 and how quickly time passes by and now I am looking forward to PSL 5 and I utterly hope that all the matches of the tournament should be held in Lahore.