PSL final in Lahore subject to govt. permission, says PCB chief

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan, while remaining keen on staging the Pakistan Super League (PSL) decider in Lahore, has insisted that the final decision in this regard would be made by the federal government.

Earlier, there were doubts whether the PCB would hold the PSL final in Lahore on March 5 following the February 13 suicide bombing in which 13 people were killed.

However, in a meeting held last week between the PSL management and the five franchise owners in Dubai, it was decided the summit clash of the tournament would be held in Lahore as per schedule.

Khan, after attending the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), said that despite recent terror attacks in Lahore, the board was eager to hold the PSL summit clash in the provincial capital.

"But the final decision [on staging the final] will be taken by the government," the Dawn quoted the PCB chief as saying.

Throwing light on the PSL spot-fixing scandal, Shaharyar had earlier revealed that the bookies target three players and then contacted them through former opening batsman Nasir Jamshed.

"Bookies contacted two players through former player Nasir Jamshed. They wanted to target three players - Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif and Mohammad Irfan," he said.

"If they are found guilty of doing any form of corruption, the board can now ban them for life; not just five years," he added.

The league will now give franchisees the option to draft new players in case contracted international stars opt out of the March 5 final due to security reasons.

It should be noted that Pakistan have not hosted any international cricket tournaments since the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009,when six Pakistani Policemen were killed and some of the visiting players were injured.