Charged fans clash in Lahore for PSL final tickets

LAHORE: Cricket is serious business in Pakistan. Perhaps that is why banks on Wednesday in Lahore saw long queues where fans from across the province waited to get their hands on the tickets for Pakistan Super League final set to be held on Sunday, March 5 at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Cricket enthusiasts said that they had queued as early as 7:00 am outside the bank. Many expressed their dismay over the fact that banks were not selling the cheapest tickets which cost Rs500.

On Tuesday, PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan announced that 1000 tickets will be sold for Rs500. The other tickets were pricey ranging from Rs4000 to Rs12000.

Clashes were reported near Liberty market where police had to be called in to control crowd which was angry at what they said was “non-cooperation” by the bank.

Tickets for the PSL Final

Charged fans complained that even Rs4000 tickets were not available let alone the ones costing the lowest Rs500. They said only the tickets worth Rs8000 and Rs12000 were available, which were beyond their purchasing power.

Bank officials say they have nothing to do with it as they were provided tickets by the PCB.

The online booking of tickets has also been completed, with fans lamenting non-availability of tickets for Majid Khan, Imtiaz Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed and Javed Miandad enclosures.

The booking opened late last night, which was completed early Wednesday. Those who booked the tickets said the PCB didn't send the tickets for the enclosures they had book for.

Prior to this, online booking of tickets was completed for Imran Khan, Fazal Mehmood, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis enclosures. The price of tickets further soared after inclusion of service charges.

The ticket with Rs12000 cost was sold for Rs12840, Rs8000 ticket for Rs8560 and Rs4000 ticket for Rs4280.

More tickets put on sale

However, the PCB, considering the huge demand by fans, has decided to cut short its corporate commitments and provide more tickets to banks for sale.

Due to limited cap in stadium vs impossible demand we are reducing corporate commitments & putting more tickets on sale to public thru BOP.

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 1, 2017

The decision to conduct the PSL 2 final in Lahore was taken during a meeting of the Provincial Cabinet Committee on Law and Order. The decision was taken after Shahbaz Sharif consulted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Addressing the meeting, Shahbaz said foolproof security would be ensured for the mega event.

The Punjab CM directed the cabinet committee to make best arrangements, and review security and other measures on daily basis. He said he would personally monitor the progress regularly.

Foreign players associated with the Quetta Gladiators have refused to play the final of the Pakistan Super League in Lahore, sources privy to the development told Geo News.

In tweets shortly after the Gladiators win against Zalmi in Sharjah, star batsman Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Tymal Mills confirmed their unavailability for PSL`s final in Lahore.