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An embarrassing launching ceremony
LAHORE: The launching ceremony of the much-touted Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 Tournament at Expo Center in Johar Town here on Sunday night was a complete disaster and very embarrassing. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its brainless marketing and media departments failed to live up to the expectations. There was total mess at the ceremony that aimed to be star-studded, glittering and entertaining.
The PCB did a remarkably poor job and there was no innovation. Though the PCB unveiled its preliminary plans for the PSL including announcing Kevin Pietersen, Shakib Al Hasan and Dwayne Bravo as headline stars who had shown their interest in the tournament but could not confirm that the foreign cricketers had actually signed up for the league. Although Pietersen featured on the promotional video, no deal was shown to be finalised with him.
The launch of the tournament logo, with an image of a left-arm bowler, was followed by a video message in which the players, including Grant Elliott, Tim Bresnan, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, showing their interest in the league. But they did not confirm they signed up for the league. The board announced the five-team T20 event would be held in February 2016 but did not, however, announce the venue of the inaugural edition.
The launching ceremony, witnessed by less than 250 persons though invitations were handed over to almost five hundred, was possibly the worst when compared to the previous events hosted by the cash-rich PCB. The ceremony should have been started in a manner where we honour the teams and embrace the fans, and put a glow in the minds of the viewers. It should have been a celebration of things to come. But it was not. The whole concept of stringing actors, models and cricketers together was a complete tragedy.
Unfortunately, the event turned out to be boring, disappointing and way too messy. Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja briefly addressed the gathering. The low-level models, who were paid to attend the function, among other film and TV stars, failed to create a flutter. Pakistan cricket team members were asked to sit behind the models and actors, showing where our star players stood in the PCB’s scheme of things. Pakistan players, who failed to receive the attention and respect they deserved, questioned the priorities of those in charge. As the show went on, all one could see people pouring out their frustration. Pakistan singer and actor Ali Zafar unveiled the official PSL song at the end of the show, but the 'average song' could not create the magic or move the limited audience.
There were no announcements related to franchise names, broadcasters and the player draft. Younus Khan, who led Pakistan to the World T20 title in 2009, was absent from the event. Younus lambasted the PCB for not inviting him. Former Pakistan skippers like Javed Miandad, Aamir Sohail and Imran Khan and many others were not part of the event. There were no well-known business tycoons of Pakistan present at the ceremony who could have shown their interest in buying the team. What was more shocking that former PCB chairmen Khalid Mahmood, Dr Nasim Ashraf, Zaka Ashraf, Ijaz Butt and Tauqir Zia were all missing. A Twenty20 league, following a model similar to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia's Big Bash, has been in the works since 2013 but the PCB has had to postpone it twice - in 2014 and 2015 - over what it said was lack of response from sponsors and logistics issues.
Last week, the PCB confirmed it was in talks with the Emirates Cricket Board over the possibility of hosting the tournament in the UAE, despite confirming earlier that Doha, Qatar would serve as a venue. The PSL had initially contacted top agencies handling over 100 international players to consider playing in Pakistan. The response was overwhelmingly negative, which forced the PSL to be held outside Pakistan. The PCB has promised financial packages greater or equal to those offered in the Bangladesh Premier League, Sri Lanka Premier League and the Big Bash League.
The PSL will feature franchise-based teams from the provincial capitals - Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad - with prize money of $1 million. The full schedule is yet to be announced but the window between February 4 and 24 has been reserved for the 24-match event. It is expected that all the matches will be played at a single venue. If the tournament takes place in Doha, it will be the first major cricket series hosted by the Qatar capital, which will also host the 2022 edition of the football World Cup. The PCB had initially planned on conducting the PSL in the UAE, where Pakistan have been playing their international matches, but they were forced to look for an alternative venue after being told by the Emirates Cricket Board that it was hosting the Masters Champions League (Twenty20 tournament featuring retired cricketers) on the same dates. The PCB and the ECB, however, are looking at hosting the PSL in the UAE if an appropriate scheduling window is available. Still the PCB has a long way to go to make it a success as the first challenge is to get financial sponsors. The board is not in a position to suffer any financial loss, especially if the Pakistan-India series is not held as per plan in coming December in the UAE.
LAHORE: The launching ceremony of the much-touted Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 Tournament at Expo Center in Johar Town here on Sunday night was a complete disaster and very embarrassing. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its brainless marketing and media departments failed to live up to the expectations. There was total mess at the ceremony that aimed to be star-studded, glittering and entertaining.
The PCB did a remarkably poor job and there was no innovation. Though the PCB unveiled its preliminary plans for the PSL including announcing Kevin Pietersen, Shakib Al Hasan and Dwayne Bravo as headline stars who had shown their interest in the tournament but could not confirm that the foreign cricketers had actually signed up for the league. Although Pietersen featured on the promotional video, no deal was shown to be finalised with him.
The launch of the tournament logo, with an image of a left-arm bowler, was followed by a video message in which the players, including Grant Elliott, Tim Bresnan, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, showing their interest in the league. But they did not confirm they signed up for the league. The board announced the five-team T20 event would be held in February 2016 but did not, however, announce the venue of the inaugural edition.
The launching ceremony, witnessed by less than 250 persons though invitations were handed over to almost five hundred, was possibly the worst when compared to the previous events hosted by the cash-rich PCB. The ceremony should have been started in a manner where we honour the teams and embrace the fans, and put a glow in the minds of the viewers. It should have been a celebration of things to come. But it was not. The whole concept of stringing actors, models and cricketers together was a complete tragedy.
Unfortunately, the event turned out to be boring, disappointing and way too messy. Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja briefly addressed the gathering. The low-level models, who were paid to attend the function, among other film and TV stars, failed to create a flutter. Pakistan cricket team members were asked to sit behind the models and actors, showing where our star players stood in the PCB’s scheme of things. Pakistan players, who failed to receive the attention and respect they deserved, questioned the priorities of those in charge. As the show went on, all one could see people pouring out their frustration. Pakistan singer and actor Ali Zafar unveiled the official PSL song at the end of the show, but the 'average song' could not create the magic or move the limited audience.
There were no announcements related to franchise names, broadcasters and the player draft. Younus Khan, who led Pakistan to the World T20 title in 2009, was absent from the event. Younus lambasted the PCB for not inviting him. Former Pakistan skippers like Javed Miandad, Aamir Sohail and Imran Khan and many others were not part of the event. There were no well-known business tycoons of Pakistan present at the ceremony who could have shown their interest in buying the team. What was more shocking that former PCB chairmen Khalid Mahmood, Dr Nasim Ashraf, Zaka Ashraf, Ijaz Butt and Tauqir Zia were all missing. A Twenty20 league, following a model similar to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia's Big Bash, has been in the works since 2013 but the PCB has had to postpone it twice - in 2014 and 2015 - over what it said was lack of response from sponsors and logistics issues.
Last week, the PCB confirmed it was in talks with the Emirates Cricket Board over the possibility of hosting the tournament in the UAE, despite confirming earlier that Doha, Qatar would serve as a venue. The PSL had initially contacted top agencies handling over 100 international players to consider playing in Pakistan. The response was overwhelmingly negative, which forced the PSL to be held outside Pakistan. The PCB has promised financial packages greater or equal to those offered in the Bangladesh Premier League, Sri Lanka Premier League and the Big Bash League.
The PSL will feature franchise-based teams from the provincial capitals - Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad - with prize money of $1 million. The full schedule is yet to be announced but the window between February 4 and 24 has been reserved for the 24-match event. It is expected that all the matches will be played at a single venue. If the tournament takes place in Doha, it will be the first major cricket series hosted by the Qatar capital, which will also host the 2022 edition of the football World Cup. The PCB had initially planned on conducting the PSL in the UAE, where Pakistan have been playing their international matches, but they were forced to look for an alternative venue after being told by the Emirates Cricket Board that it was hosting the Masters Champions League (Twenty20 tournament featuring retired cricketers) on the same dates. The PCB and the ECB, however, are looking at hosting the PSL in the UAE if an appropriate scheduling window is available. Still the PCB has a long way to go to make it a success as the first challenge is to get financial sponsors. The board is not in a position to suffer any financial loss, especially if the Pakistan-India series is not held as per plan in coming December in the UAE.
