Multan Sultans face Islamabad United in the final of the ninth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and there has been some controversy in the buildup to the marquee match in Karachi. Videos have surfaced of journalists walking out of Multan's pre-match press conference and the team's media manager can be heard telling them to not sit for the interaction if they don't wish to.
A journalist can be seen talking to the media manager after which he begins to walk off. "It's ok, those who don't want to sit can go," the latter can then be heard saying in Urdu. Assistant coach Abdul Rehman had been brought in to address the media. While the reason for the walk out has not been spoken of officially, it has been alleged on social media that the journalists had asked for captain Mohammad Rizwan or any other senior player to sit for the press conference.
Lack of crowds in Karachi
The National Stadium in Karachi has been in the news this season for poor crowd turn out, particularly during the second eliminator between Islamabad and Peshawar Zalmi. Islamabad won the match by five wickets to book their place in the final but they did so in front of near empty stands. This stands in contrast to what was witnessed in other venues with games in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan being played in packed stadiums.
{{/usCountry}}The National Stadium in Karachi has been in the news this season for poor crowd turn out, particularly during the second eliminator between Islamabad and Peshawar Zalmi. Islamabad won the match by five wickets to book their place in the final but they did so in front of near empty stands. This stands in contrast to what was witnessed in other venues with games in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan being played in packed stadiums.
{{/usCountry}}Former Pakistan captain and fast bowling great Wasim Akram said it was embarrassing to see the empty seats. "It was embarrassing to see no crowd in Karachi. There was no crowd, literally no crowd for last night's match," Akram said on A Sports. Strangely enough, the final, which will also be played in Karachi, has been scheduled to be held on Monday which is expected to impact crowds even more.
Islamabad are making their third appearance in the PSL final and their first since 2018. They have won the match on both occassions in the past, having taken the inaugural title in 2016 and then in 2018. Multan, on the other hand, are playing their fourth consecutive final. They won the title in 2021 and then finished runners-up to Lahore Qalandars in 2022 and 2023.
The Sultans topped the league table this season, having won seven and lost three. United, on the other hand, finished third. Multan then beat Peshawar Zalmi in the qualifier. Islamabad beat Quetta Gladiators in the first eliminator and then Zalmi in the second to reach the title clash.