Najam Sethi unsure if foreign players will play in PSL final following Lahore bomb blast

The bomb blast in Lahore on 13 February has made it difficult for foreign cricketers to play in the final of the 2017 Pakistan Super League (PSL), according to chairman Najam Sethi.

The deadly blast in Pakistan's second largest city during a rally claimed 13 lives. Even prior to the blast, foreign players had raised concerns about their safety and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had assured that foolproof security will be provided for the final.

If the 2017 PSL final does take place in Pakistan, it will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 5 March. However, Sethi was of the view that the blast will make it more difficult for the organisers to host the league, which has been so far been played in Dubai.

"What can I tell you? Obviously people will be more wary and scared – they were already and now will be more," Sethi said as quoted as saying by ESPN.

"So right now to say whether we can convince them easily is very difficult... Now I will have to start all over again. I cannot say that we will be successful or not because they have families, they will have their associations which will guide them."

On his political talk show on Geo TV, Sethi asked the public if they would like to see a final in Lahore with only Pakistani players or a final in Dubai with international players.

"[People] were calling me up as well [and saying] that whatever the situation this is Pakistan's resolve that the PSL final has to happen [in Lahore]," he noted. "That we have to show terrorists that we are not scared and we have to show we can do it because it is very important for us."

"I agree with this and this is my thought. I also think that these terrorists cannot think they can threaten us like this, that they can stop our businesses, stop our lives. No. We will stand firm, we will fight, we will do this.

"In that matter this is my resolve and I can see it is the resolve of every Pakistani, and their desire of having the final in Lahore. This is our stance. I think the Punjab government will be the same," PSL's chairman said.

"But the situation is this that the question Pakistanis have to answer is if the foreign players do not agree to come to Lahore, or a lot of them don't, should we still have a final with just Pakistan players in Lahore, or should we have it with foreign players and do it in Dubai?

"This is the question the Pakistani public has to answer and whatever their wish we will see to it. My heart says we have to show the world.

"If foreign players come to Lahore then good and if they don't, then with our Pakistani players we should have a PSL final in Lahore. But I want public opinion on this, I want cricket-lovers to tell me, cricket fans - what do they want? Whatever they want, we will do," he added.