The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is scheduled to begin on March 26, faces uncertainty after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) issued a warning to foreign players against participating in the tournament. The organization’s Liberal wing recommended that overseas players withdraw from the competition, citing safety concerns.
A day earlier, the league was reduced to a behind-closed-doors event at two venues in Karachi and Lahore due to the situation in West Asia and related security concerns.
Pakistan’s X account Islamabad Post shared a statement from the TTP faction Hurriyat Party, warning foreign players to “prioritize personal safety and withdraw from the competition immediately”.
“Today, the people of Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, are enduring unprecedented suffering due to systematic military repression and state-led violence. While our streets are filled with the funerals of our loved ones and our mothers mourn the disappearance of their sons, the organized show of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a cruel mockery of our suffering. To hold such a festive show amid bloodshed across the region is an act of ‘friction’. “We firmly object to adding salt to our wounds,” the statement said.
The statement further read: “We wish to convey a clear and urgent message to all participants in the PSL, especially foreign players: the internal security and political situation in the country is currently volatile. With military operations and civil unrest dominating much of the territory, the safety of international athletes cannot be guaranteed. In view of this serious situation, we strongly advise you to prioritize your personal safety and withdraw from the competition immediately.”
The organization said it was not opposed to cricket but questioned the timing of the games. “While we are not inherently opposed to healthy physical activity, we refuse to tolerate national hypocrisy. It is unacceptable for cricket matches to promote an image of ‘normality’ in one part of the country while state-sponsored atrocities continue unabated in another. We will not allow the blood of the oppressed to be obscured by the lights of stadiums, nor will we allow the dignity of our people to be compromised for political purposes,” the statement read.
A Liberal Congress spokesman later confirmed the warning in a conversation with the Sunday Guardian. “We would like to advise the cricket boards concerned not to send players to Pakistan. If anything happens to them, it is not our responsibility. We have given a warning,” he said.
Asked if that meant preventing games from taking place, he added: “Yes, we will do our best to ensure that games don’t take place and players don’t play.”
This year’s PSL features several overseas players, including David Warner, Steve Smith, Moeen Ali, Devon Conway and Adam Zampa. Their involvement is part of an effort to bring international players back into the league.
Steve Smith arrived in Pakistan on Monday to join up with Multan Sultans and will make his debut in the tournament after recently playing in the Big Bash League.
Meanwhile, the league will be played without spectators as Pakistan grapples with a fuel crisis. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi confirmed that all matches will be played behind closed doors and limited to two venues.
The competition is scheduled to take place from March 26 to May 3.
