Peshawar confident foreign stars will play final

DUBAI — Peshawar Zalmi said it was confident that its five foreign players will travel to Lahore for the Pakistan Super League final despite security fears following two deadly bomb attacks. “All our foreign players — England’s Dawid Malan, Chris Jordan and Samit Patel and the West Indian duo of Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels have visas issued and we hope they all will go,” said a Peshawar Zalmi spokesman. Malan and Jordan need official permission from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which is expected to come Saturday, the spokesman added. The other finalists, Quetta Gladiators have not been so fortunate with its foreign contingent of English trio, Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Tymal Mills, as well as New Zealand’s Nathan McCullum and South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw all refusing to go to Lahore for Sunday’s final. But Quetta has brought in five new foreign players — Morne van Wyk of South Africa, Anamul Haque of Bangladesh, Elton Chigumbura and Sean Ervine of Zimbabwe, and Rayad Emrit of West Indies — after four key players declined to travel to Pakistan due to security fears. The final will go ahead despite two bomb blasts in the city which killed 23 people and left over 100 injured last month. Peshawar will certainly be without star all-rounder Shahid Afridi who needed 12 stitches after damaging his right hand while fielding in Friday’s 24-run win over the Karachi Kings which took his team to the title match. “Happier than ever to reach the final, @PeshawarZalmi have shown their resolve for the title & my injury wont stop them from winning,” tweeted the 36-year-old who announced his international retirement during the competition. Kamran Akmal fired Peshawar into the final with a brilliant hundred. Akmal, hoping to regain his spot in the national team for next month’s tour of the West Indies, hit a 65-ball 104 with seven sixes and six boundaries to lift Peshawar to 181-3 in their 20 overs after being sent into bat. Paceman Wahab Riaz then chipped in with 3-24 as Karachi was restricted to 157-7. Kieron Pollard scored a 26-ball 47 and added an invaluable 62 in six overs for the sixth wicket with Imad Wasim (24) but they fell within the space of just two runs to give Peshawar victory. Chris Gayle took his first run off the ninth ball before completing a 31-ball 40 with four sixes and two boundaries. “Unprecedented” security involving thousands of troops and police will guard the sold-out game in Lahore — scene of a deadly 2009 assault on Sri Lanka’s team which halted international cricket tours in the country. Holding the final in Pakistan has drawn criticism from some quarters, after a series of militant attacks in February left 130 people dead, including a Lahore suicide blast that killed 14. “God forbid if any mishap happens we can say goodbye to international cricket in Pak for the next decade,” tweeted Pakistan great Imran Khan. PSL, now in its second year, is Pakistan’s answer to the glitzy Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash League, and provides much-needed income for Pakistani cricket after international teams stopped visiting. Sunday’s game stands as a test as to whether Pakistan can again successfully host top-level cricket, and has also been held up as a symbol of defiance in the face of violence. A marked improvement in security since 2014, coupled with the success of the inaugural Super League, convinced the Pakistan Cricket Board to risk a final in Lahore. “The success of the PSL will open the gates for teams to start coming into Pakistan,” insisted cricket chief Shaharyar Khan, as the three-and-a-half-week tournament began last month. The army, paramilitary Rangers and Punjab police will secure the area and players will travel in bullet-proof buses, in what officials say are unheard-of levels of security. The 27,000-capacity Gaddafi Stadium was already under guard Friday. Spectators will have to walk through at least three checkpoints before entering the stadium Sunday. A temporary hospital of 25 beds was also established at a nearby hockey stadium in case of emergency. — Agencies