Babar Azam and Mohsin Naqvi - (Source: X.com)
The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will proceed as planned and kick off on March 26. The ongoing West Asia war has ruined PCB’s plans to upscale the tournament, and the Mohsin Naqvi-led board were forced to make last-minute changes to the league.
For the unversed, the entire tournament will be played behind closed doors, and fans will not be allowed in the stadiums to counter inflation and rising fuel demands amid the US-Iran war. Similarly, the venues have been reduced to just Lahore and Karachi from the original six-city plan.
Fuel Crisis In Pakistan Puts PSL In Turmoil
The ongoing West Asia war has taken a massive dent on Pakistan’s economy, which has forced PCB to make key changes in PSL. There is a massive fuel crisis in Pakistan, which is why the authorities have asked the citizens to restrict their movement. Therefore, Mohsin Naqvi restricted the upcoming tournament to just two cities.
Meanwhile, the PCB has also received threats from the Taliban amid their ongoing tussle, and they have warned the international players, asking them to back out of the tournament. Therefore, nothing seems to be going right for Pakistan’s premier T20 tournament as fans are banned, teams are struggling with players backing out, and now the fuel crisis in the entire nation.
Amid this, a video has gone viral of PCB head Mohsin Naqvi hosting the entire PSL teams for dinner at his residence ahead of the start of the tournament.
Mohsin Naqvi Hosts Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Others For Dinner
In the latest events, a video has gone viral of Mohsin Naqvi greeting Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Salman Ali Agha at his residence. It was an event hosted on a grand scale. The PCB chairman hugged Babar and the rest of the Pakistan stars present at the venue.
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Notably, for the unversed, it was Babar Azam’s first time meeting Mohsin Naqvi after his ODI snub in the recently concluded Bangladesh series, where the Men in Green suffered an embarrassing defeat in his absence.
Naqvi has received a lot of backlash for splurging gas and resources for a private event amid the ongoing crisis. Therefore, the clip is now spreading like wildfire and the fans are unhappy with downscaling the event as the opening ceremony too stands cancelled at this point.
Shedding light on Babar Azam, he too has a chance to redeem himself as he has joined with Peshawar Zalmi for PSL 2026.
Mohsin Naqvi Apologises For Restricting PSL To Two Cities
Ahead of PSL 2026, Mohsin Naqvi apologised to the fans and assured that the league has been limited keeping national interest in mind.
“The PSL has been limited keeping in view the national interest due to the regional situation. I sincerely apologize to cricket fans. You have to put the larger interest of the country and the nation above everything else. I am confident that today’s sacrifice will lead to greater ease tomorrow,” remarked Mohsin Naqvi while speaking in an event.
Talking about the ongoing game, Lahore Qalandars will take on Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
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