DUBAI: Pakistan Super League (PSL) Chairman Najam Sethi has said that the final of the cricket league in Lahore will attract international players to come and play in Pakistan.

He was addressing the inauguration ceremony of PSL’s second edition in Dubai International Stadium today.

Season two of the cricket league begun today with the national anthems of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The show was hosted by Pakistani heartthrob Fahad Mustafa who charged up the crowd with chants of “This league belongs to the whole of Pakistan”.

Participants of the event witnessed cultural performances of Pakistan. Songs in the four provincial languages were played.

Before everything, an alternative anthem by Junaid Jamshed, Dil Dil Pakistan was played with the crowd singing along. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s patriotic song Pakistan Pakistan was also played in the ceremony.

Sethi said that the difference between the last edition and this edition is that now we have bigger stars. The pitches are designed in a way that there will be big runs. If someone in the crowd catches a sixer, they will win Rs1 crore.

Meanwhile, PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan thanked Emir of Dubai Sheikh al Nahyan, UAE president, for hosting the event.

“The success of PSL will open the gates for others to start coming into Pakistan,” he said, adding that the match in Lahore is significant as it will show that Pakistan has “normalised” it terms of security.

The mega performer of the event, Jamaican singing sensation Shaggy took the stage with a storm and kicked off the musical portion with a medley of his most famous songs.

Following him, Pakistani singing star Shehzad Roy and Ali Zafar also took chances to entertain their fans.

The first match is being played between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi.