Pakistan’s T20 cricket league cuts venues, crowds due to Gulf crisis

AFP | Karachi

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Pakistan’s Twenty20 league will be held on schedule from March 26 but without crowds and only at two venues to save resources due to the Gulf crisis, the country’s cricket chief announced yesterday.

Pakistan depends on oil and gas from the Gulf and the government has in recent weeks introduced a series of fuel-saving measures over fears of a drop in supply.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the decisions on the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were taken after consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“The prime minister has requested restricted movements of people because of the fuel crisis so we have decided that the PSL would continue as per the original schedule but without crowds,” Naqvi told a press conference in Lahore.

To stop fans travelling, the eight-team league has also been reduced to two venues, and not the original six, meaning Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Peshawar miss out.