Karachi: More than 40 PCB officials, including some high-ranking officers, were present in the city to manage the affairs of Pakistan’s T20I series against West Indies at National Stadium.
Although this series has finally really revived international cricket in the country, unfortunately the first two matches failed to attract as many people as they should have. What’s the reason behind this? After all, Karachiites are crazy fans of cricket.
On the day of the second T20I, the enclosures named after Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan were empty.
All talented PCB bureaucrats, from Najam Sethi to Subhan Ahmed, were present in the city, so why did they fail to attract Karachiites to come to see the matches in the stadium? It was the result of poor planning and marketing of these matches.
A low-grade West Indies team, poor mechanism for ticket sale, and extraordinary difficulties for the spectators kept people away from the stadium.
A large number of those who did come to see the matches had complimentary passes. Some people say the high prices of the tickets were also a reason.
It is surprising that when a T20 match which was not international was organized in the city spectators came in large number but international matches happening after a gap of nine years failed to draw people.
Monday was a working day, but the matches are being played in the evening. And most importantly, these are international T20s, the most popular cricket in today’s world. The condition of the spectators was also not satisfactory on Sunday, when two enclosures were completely empty. Besides, dozens of chairs were lying empty in other enclosures.
What would happen in the third T20 match as Pakistan has already won the series? Even fewer people will come to witness the third match on Tuesday.
The National Stadium management does not have any high caliber official. They are all “Yes sir” men. They don’t know anything about management.
Moreover, it was surprising to note that media accreditation cards were issued to many of those reporters who usually cover other beats. It was done only to oblige them.
