Cricket fans allowed to attend playoff matches in Pakistan Super League

Cricket fans are allowed to attend the four remaining games in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after approval by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday.

Permission for spectators at all four playoff games came two days after Sharif approved a request from franchise owners to open the doors to the PSL final in Lahore on Sunday.

Pakistan's biggest sports spectacle of the year started behind closed doors late last month with fans asked to stay home because of soaring fuel prices related to the Iran war.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister in the government, announced the doors reopening on social media after meeting with Shahbaz in Islamabad.

He wrote on X that PM Shahbaz wanted the fans to "use public transport or minimise fuel consumption while attending the matches, in line with the ongoing national austerity efforts."

The government has urged people to restrict travel and to work from home and Naqvi said it wouldn't be right to have 30,000 fans attending cricket matches every day while the government is asking the public to stay home.

PSL venues were also reduced from six to just Lahore and Karachi as part of austerity measures.

Peshawar Zalmi, led by Babar Azam, takes on three-time champions Islamabad United in the qualifier at Karachi on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the final.

The loser faces the winner of Wednesday's eliminator between first-timers Hyderabad Kingsmen and Multan Sultans on Friday for the second spot in the finale, with all three of those matches in Lahore.

Associated Press