The tenth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) formally began on Thursday with an opening ceremony at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Among the performers at the ceremony were Abida Parveen, Ali Zafar, Natasha Baig and popular rap duo Young Stunners.
Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars kicked off the first match of the tournament at 8:30pm.
That it marks a decade of the country’s very own cash-rich franchise T20 tournament, is probably one of the very few special things about this year’s PSL, given where Pakistan cricket stands today.
The tournament has come amid the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) administrative turmoil and the national team’s spiralling decline over the last two years.
The PSL ‘X’, as it has been named this year, also coincides with the ongoing dissatisfaction of the biggest stakeholders of the league — the team owners — over its progress in the last 10 years.
Cricket will take centre stage today and Rawalpindi will be in the thick of it, with the venue to host 11 matches this year, the most it has ever since the PSL’s inception.
The tournament is slated to run until May 18, with a significant part of it to run parallel with the Indian Premier League.
The 34-match tournament comprises of three-double headers, while the remaining fixtures will be single headers taking place across Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host 11 matches, including the qualifier on May 13. Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium is set to host 13 matches while Karachi’s National Bank Stadium will host 11 matches.
The six teams will also be locking horns to take away the $500,000 prize money set for the winners, while the runners-up team will be awarded $200,000.
5,000 cops deployed for ‘foolproof’ security
The Rawalpindi police have set in place “foolproof” security measures, including providing 5,000 cops for the tournament, according to a police spokesman.
The security arrangements have been made in coordination with the Pakistan Army, Rangers and other agencies. Further, special police teams including the Dolphin Force, Elite Force personnel have been deployed around the stadium and more than 376 personnel from traffic police.
The arrangements will be supervised by Regional Police Officer Babar Sarfraz Alpa and City Police Officer Syed Khalid Hamdani along with other high-ranking officers.
As per the report, visitors would only be allowed to enter via a walk-through gate and after a full-body search. Other security measures include a special control room dedicated to monitoring the stadium as well as the rest of the city via Safe City and other CCTV cameras.
Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi chaired a key meeting on Thursday to review security arrangements where he detailed that foolproof security would be ensured for players at their hotels.
During their movement, all routes will be thoroughly checked by bomb disposal squads and monitored through security cameras. The IGP added that Safe City smart cars, mobile jammers, and surveillance vehicles would be deployed in the convoy to enhance security and ensure effective monitoring.