The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken the unusual choice to hold the Pakistan Super League at the Bugti Stadium in Quetta (PSL).The league’s eighth season, which will take place between February 13 and March 19, will now be contested at five different locations: Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Quetta.
For the first time since it hosted Pakistan’s lone ODI against Zimbabwe in 1996, Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, Pakistan’s least populous but biggest by area province, will play home to a high-profile cricket match. Pakistan won by three wickets.
The decision to raise the number of PSL sites was made by the newly established 14-member management committee, which has taken over for sacked PCB chairman Ramiz Raja. Only four sites were anticipated at that time for the 2023 season.
Najam Sethi, the president of the PCB’s management committee, said: “I am thrilled that seven years after founding the Pakistan Super League, I am now announcing our commitment to add Bugti Stadium in Quetta as the fifth location for our premier event.”
Bugti Stadium serves as the home field for the Quetta Gladiators, and we still recall the breathtaking images that occurred when the Gladiators came to the city following their victory in the 2019 championship.
I am happy that we will now deliver HBL PSL 8 matches to their doors. The devoted cricket fans of Quetta have been waiting a long time to see high-profile cricket in their backyard. In this regard, I have already communicated with powerful leaders in the province of Balochistan, who have guaranteed me of their utmost help in terms of event delivery.
Since 1954, Quetta has hosted domestic cricket matches, despite the fact that the city is typically disregarded due to subpar facilities and declining security. Only one player from Balochistan, opening batsman Shoaib Khan, has ever represented Pakistan; in 2008, he played four T20 Internationals while playing in a T20 Quadrangular in Canada.
Balochistan hasn’t historically had as large of a cricket fan base as other sections of Pakistan. The local government owns Bugti Stadium, which was given to the PCB in 2001 as part of a deal that required the board to take care of upkeep and renovations.
The stadium has held domestic matches since 1954, although not consistently; from 1977 to 2004, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s best first-class competition, was not held there.After a further 12-year break from 2007 to 2019, there were four first-class matches there in 2019.
The weather has been noted as one of the primary causes for the stadium’s inconsistent use; Pakistan’s domestic season lasts from October to March, while winter temperatures in Quetta hover between 4-6 degrees Celsius. In advance of the PSL, the Balochistan government has also planned a festival match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi on February 5.
The PCB will work with the local government and provincial government to refurbish and rebuild Bugti Stadium so that it is prepared to host PSL games. The PCB will also start separate conversations on security clearances with the appropriate authorities.