Back on the pitch: Pakistan Super League resumes after conflict-forced suspension

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s premier Twenty20 cricket tournament resumes Saturday after a ceasefire between India and Pakistan was achieved. There will be a handful of foreign players returning for the remaining eight games.

The Pakistan Super League was suspended on May 9 but last weekend Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire after talks to defuse their most serious military confrontation in decades.

The Indian Premier League, also suspended due to the outbreak between the countries, will also resume this weekend.

PSL organizers first proposed moving the tournament to Dubai but later decided to postpone it after foreign players were reluctant to participate in the tournament due to security concerns. Around 43 foreign cricketers — competing on six PSL teams — were flown out of Pakistan from an air base in Rawalpindi.

Rawalpindi will host the remaining four league matches between May 17-19 before Lahore hosts the playoffs from May 21, including the final at Qaddafi Stadium on May 25.

Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikander Raza is among some of foreign players who have returned to Pakistan. Raza, who plays for Lahore Qalandars, is available for Lahore’s crucial last league game against Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday before he flies to England for test duty starting next week.

Raza will not be available for Lahore if the two-time champions qualify for the playoffs due to his test commitments.

He said that if the PSL resumed, he planned to return to Pakistan, even for just one match.

“I was very clear in my head that I was always going to go back,” Raza told The Associated Press as he trained with his teammates at Islamabad Club ground on Thursday.

“This PSL is not just about winning a trophy, there’s a lot more to it. All the