Four PSL3 matches to be held in Karachi, Lahore: Najam Sethi

Karachi [Pakistan], May 24 (ANI): Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman Najam Sethi has vowed that he will try to bring at least eight matches in Pakistan in the upcoming edition, unlike the second season of the tournament, in which only the final was staged in Lahore. Sethi further revealed that two double headers will be held in both Karachi and Lahore this time. "This time around we are going to hold eight matches in Pakistan. Two double headers will take place in Karachi and two double headers will take place in Lahore," the Express Tribune quoted the PSL chief as saying. Last time around, Pakistan successfully hosted the PSL final which saw Peshawar Zalmi thrashing Quetta Gladiators by 58 runs in front of a jam-packed Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Heading into the final, Quetta Gladiators' frontline foreign picks - England's Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Tymal Mills, and South African Rilee Rossouw --all refused to travel Pakistan citing security concerns. As a result, Quetta was forced to sign back-up foreign players who failed to gel well enough with the side in time. However, Sethi believes this time around though, there will be no such problem as playing in Pakistan would now be part of the players' contract. "All players featuring in the third edition of the PSL will be obliged to play in Pakistan. It will be part of their contract that they will be playing here," said Sethi. He further revealed that the foreign players are expected to receive 50% above their usual fee for the match in Pakistan as added incentive, or 100% if they are icon players. "So if a player was getting let's say $10,000 for that match, then he will be getting $15,000. It is just a way to sweeten the deal for them," Sethi explained. Last month, Sethi had announced that six teams will play in the next edition of the country's lucrative T20 tournament. Reflecting on the same, the PSL chairman said that the bidding process is already underway. "We had a total of six eligible bidders for the five teams when we began two years ago. It is a measure of how far the league has come that this time around we have 30 bidders for one team," he added.(ANI)