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Cricket is the talk of the city of Karachi.
More than 10 years after Pakistan's most populous city staged its last Test match, some of the biggest names in the world are back in the business world of a tournament with over 20 franchises, the Super Pakistan League (PSL).
And with that comes an incredible attention; the eyes of a nation.
Indeed, the league is not just a cricket tournament at home, but a message to the world about improving security in the country, become a no-go area for international players after a terrorist attack against Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009..
With foreign players and teams visiting the country regularly, the perception of Pakistan's security is changing.
Foreign players in Pakistan
Although Pakistan has already organized four PSL matches, four international men's team cricket rounds (Zimbabwe in 2015, World XI and Sri Lanka in 2017 and West Indies in 2018) and two women's tours (Bangladesh in 2015 and West Indies in 2019). ). ), the current PSL is the biggest cricket activity in Pakistan for 10 years.
In the past week, Karachi has hosted 39 foreign players from all six teams.
Of the 39 foreign stars, 14 came from the UK: Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Harry Gurney, James Vince, Laurie Evans, Liam Dawson, Liam Livingstone, Max Waller, Salt Philip, Ravi Bopara, Rikki Wessels, Samit Patel, Tymal Mills and Wayne Madsen.
Shane Watson (Australia), Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard (both West Indies) and Colin Munro (New Zealand) are some of the other big names in Pakistan for the tournament.
Watson's presence in the country reinforces the idea that players hide their fears for safety – he had refused to travel to Pakistan in the previous two tournaments.
Hales is another individual who could change perceptions. He was one of two players who pulled out of the English tour in Bangladesh in 2016 – although he made it this year for the Bangladesh First Division.
Lancashire captain Liam Livingstone, who scored 82 of his 43 balls in his PSL debut for the Karachi Kings and shared a record 157-run partnership with Pakistan's Babar Azam, was impressed by the security.
"The security has been incredible," Livingstone said. "There is a mbadive change in my perception of Pakistan.
"International teams can definitely come back and visit Pakistan, and the crowd here deserves international cricket.
"We were very well cared for. It's nice to bring cricket back to Pakistan. You can obviously see how much people love cricket here. It's great to be able to smile at them.
"With the same security (armored ground convoys), it will be an easy decision for us to return to Pakistan if there is an opportunity."
How big is the PSL in Pakistan?
In simple terms, it's big – both financially and from the fans' point of view.
The latest three-year contract for TV and digital rights was sold for $ 36 million (£ 27.1 million), an increase of 358% over the previous contract. The sponsorship contract for the three-year term is now worth $ 14.3 million (£ 10.8 million). .
The Pakistan Cricket Commission (PCB) also receives $ 16.5 million a year in franchise fees from the six teams: Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.
Last year, the franchise agreement between Multan Sultans and a Dubai-based group of companies – which had bought it for $ 5.2 million – was terminated because of its inability to deal with financial demands. the price again.
Instead, the new buyer bought it at $ 6.35 million, or $ 3.75 million more than the most expensive franchise, Karachi Kings ($ 2.6 million), cost at the time the creation of the league in 2015.
The amounts may seem modest compared to other tournaments such as the Indian Premier League and the Australian Big Bash League, but the CCP believes that such deals will become more lucrative once the PSL is fully hosted in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, only eight games out of 34 have taken place this year, the rest taking place in the UAE, where the Pakistani national team will play the majority of its home games.
The PCB expects to have at least half of the tournament in Pakistan starting next year.
Three of the eight games this year were originally scheduled for Lahore, but were moved to Karachi as Lahore airspace was shut down following recent clashes on the Indo-Pakistan border.
In terms of support, nearly 200,000 people will have visited the National Stadium during the seven days of PSL's presence, while 90% of viewers in the nation's capital, Islamabad, attended the final between their team. and and Peshawar last year.
Has the PSL found new talent?
Pakistan is renowned for producing exciting cricketers and continues to do so despite playing cricket for ten years.
In 2017, the national team won the Champions Trophy in England, while the T20 National Team is ranked first in the world.
On the contrary, the PSL has accelerated the production chain, with both Hasan Ali – the tournament player winning the Pakistani champions' trophy – and Fakhar Zaman, the man of the match in the final against India at The Oval, accelerated national after impressive performances in the PSL.
This year, in particular, the tournament was productive for the fast bowlers.
Mohammad Hasnain, an 18-year-old speedster who was clocked at 94 mph, is a typical example.
His nine wickets in six games for Quetta Gladiators, at an average of 20.11, have allowed the national team to qualify for the ODI series against Australia that will kick off in the UAE on March 22nd.
Haris Rauf is another fast bowler who has been very impressive. Aged 25, he participated in the Qalandars development program in Lahore and won 11 wickets at 7.41 in the tournament.
Among the talented players, the 19-year-old left-arm tweaker Umer Khan, who made his T20 debut in the PSL, was the winner of the Karachi Kings match and seems to have the gift of becoming a big box office.
On his 15 wickets of the tournament, all are drummers in the first five positions.
Shane Watson (twice), AB de Villiers, James Vince, Luke Ronchi and Shoaib Malik are among the renowned players that he fired during his short career.
His teammate at Umer, Livingstone, was impressed by Pakistan's bowling talent.
"I'm surprised how bowling has been good in the PSL, I have not played in other leagues, so I can not compare it, but compared to England. Bowling has been a lot better in this competition, "said Livingstone.
The tournament will end on Sunday when Quetta Gladiators, led by Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, will meet Peshawar Zalmi, for whom British semi-general Chris Jordan won three wickets in the last playoff match against Islamabad United.
And during those three or four hours while the match is going on, the nation will stop to watch cricket.
Could it be that the T20 – so long perceived as a threat to the cricket test – offers the longer format to return to Pakistan? The world of cricket hopes well.
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