Javed Afridi reportedly boycotts PSL draft over Ramiz Raja's statement
Cricket
Javed Afridi reportedly boycotts PSL draft over Ramiz Raja's statement
LAHORE (Web Desk) - The players draft ceremony for the eighth season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held on Thursday in Karachi and one its biggest franchise’s owner Javed Afridi was not there as he reportedly boycotted the event.
Afridi reportedly boycotted the event over the statement by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja about Peshawar and its ability to host international level matches.
“We can’t bring Western teams to Peshawar right now,” the PCB chief had said in an interview.
The 35,000 seater Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar, which was built nearly 30 years ago, has been under renovations for the past four years as it hopes to meet requirements for hosting international matches – an important condition to fulfill for hosting PSL matches.
Ramiz Raja went on to express the hope that the city would be able to host PSL matches soon once it meets the technical requirements. But at that point, he revealed, that cricket boards of western countries are reluctant to allow their players to travel to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – located too close to Afghanistan and considered vulnerable to cross-border attacks from terrorists.
However, Javed Afridi was left less than happy with the PCB chief’s statement. The boycott of the event was his silent protest.
The Peshawar Zalmi owner usually takes special interest in draft ceremonies but this year Team Director Muhammad Akram and Captain Babar Azam had led in decision-making for drafting the players.
This year, PSL matches will be hosted by four cities including Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
