https://www.dawn.com/news/1971723

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HYDERABAD: Colourful beam lights installed along the perimeter of a specially erected stage lit up the evening sky on Saturday, visible from nearly half a kilometre away. Traffic remained suspended on a stretch of Thandi Sarak near the historic Niaz Stadium as the city prepared for a landmark moment in its cricketing history.

The occasion was the unveiling of Hyderabad Kingsmen, the seventh franchise of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), acquired by Pakistani-origin US national Fawad Sarwar.

Mr Sarwar, who hails from Hyderabad, received his early education at the city’s well-known missionary school, St Bonaventure, and passed his matriculation examinations in 1995. Several of his former classmates were present at the ceremony.

“We were specially invited along with other batch fellows by him,” said Babar, a former class-mate, expressing excitement. Another ex class-mate, Zishan Malik, said they had gathered with Mr Sarwar at a farmhouse in the SITE area before proceeding to the stadium.

A large stage was set up near the Eidgah end of the ground for the unveiling ceremony. Music blared at high volume, adding to the festive atmosphere as anticipation built among the crowd.

Cheers erupted from the general enclosures when the Hyderabad franchise owner — dressed in a black polo shirt and trousers — appeared before spectators, raising his fists in acknowledgement.

Among those present was Mahroz Khan, originally from Mardan and currently residing in Hyderabad for work. He recalled the 1997 One-Day International between Pakistan and India held at the same venue.

“I watched that match from this very enclosure,” he said. “Aqib Javed [now a PCB director] was adjudged man of the match for taking four wickets.”

Others travelled from distant districts to attend the event. Aftab Kalhoro arrived from Larkana, while Farhad Jakhrani came from Kashmore district bordering Balochistan.

“The organisers have done us an injustice by confining us to the stands,” complained Mr Kalhoro. “We should have been allowed onto the outfield to enjoy the occasion more.”

As the ceremony drew closer, spectators had filled most enclosures of the stadium. At one point, some youths entered the outfield after breaking through fencing.

The unveiling ceremony was delayed by more than two hours, as Mr Sarwar had yet to appear on stage to reveal the team’s name and logo until 9.30pm, when this report was filed.

In his opening address, Mayor Kashif Ali Shoro welcomed Mr Sarwar and praised his decision to bring a PSL franchise to Hyderabad.

“We will jointly strive to ensure the hosting of international and PSL matches here at Niaz Stadium,” the mayor said.

Speaking briefly to Dawn, Mr Sarwar said his vision was to develop cricket in Hyderabad in a phased manner.

“We aim to build cricket infrastructure here not only for Hyderabad’s youth but also for young cricketers from surrounding districts,” he said.

On the development of Niaz Stadium, he said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was committed to upgrading the venue. “I will certainly collaborate with the board in this regard,” he added.

Mr Sarwar said he had moved to the United States from Hyderabad in 2001 and had completed all procedural requirements for bidding. “The process has finally matured in this edition of the PSL,” he explained.

Earlier in the day, Mr Sarwar arrived from Karachi and met Mayor Shoro. The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC), which owns the stadium — Sindh’s second Test venue after Karachi’s National Stadium — is now poised to hand it back to the PCB for development in line with other international venues.

It may be recalled that the then Municipal Committee Qasimabad, headed by the present mayor as its chairman, had unilaterally revoked its memorandum of understanding with the PCB in April 2018 and taken control of the stadium.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2026

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday denied approaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) in connection with the team’s boycott of the match against India on February 15.

In a post on the social media platform X, the PCB issued a statement attributed to its spokesperson, Amir Mir.

“I categorically reject the claim by Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta that the PCB approached the ICC,” Mir was quoted as saying.

Gupta, earlier in the day, had posted on X that the PCB had “reached out to the ICC for dialogue”. He had alleged that after the ICC wrote back to the PCB regarding the legal ramifications it could face, the board approached the cricket world body for talks to resolve the issue.

“As usual, sections of the Indian media are busy circulating fiction. A little patience and time will clearly show who actually went knocking and who didn’t,” PCB spokesperson Mir said.

It is worth mentioning that earlier on Saturday, AFP had reported a source close to the developments as saying that the PCB had reached out to the ICC after a formal communication from the cricket world body.

The ICC was seeking a resolution through dialogue and not confrontation, the source added, according to AFP.

The government gave the cricket team the nod to participate in the T20 World Cup 2026, but said the Green Shirts would not play their match with arch-rivals India, scheduled to be held in Colombo.

Any clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is one of the most lucrative in cricket, worth millions of dollars in broadcast, sponsorship and advertising revenue.

The 20-team tournament has been overshadowed by an acrimonious political build-up after Bangladesh, who refused to play in India citing security concerns, were replaced by Scotland.

As a protest, Pakistan refused to face co-hosts India in their Group A fixture.

Pakistan, who edged out Netherlands in the tournament opener on Saturday, will lose two points if they forfeit the match and also suffer a significant blow to their net run rate.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said this week that his team would travel to Colombo for the clash.

Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade, and meet only in global or regional tournaments.

Earlier this week, Sri Lanka’s cricket board asked Pakistan to reconsider the decision to boycott the match with India.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the PCB that a boycott would result in a financial hit and also hurt the island’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2022 economic meltdown.

Meanwhile, skipper Salman Agha has stated that if Pakistan were to face India in a semi-final or final, they would consult the government.

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