~Yeah I did skip my school, but I studied at home
I just arrived home after watching the Kings of Karachi & Qalandars of Lahore involved in the rollercoaster ride of the PSL match in Lahore. Ever since the start of time, it was my DREAM of watching a cricket match live in the stadium.
Though I've met cricketers like Dean Jones (RIP), it was always my fantasy to watch cricketers playing live, right in front of my eyes. Today, I was lucky enough to witness a live match and that too in which the world's best batsmen were part of; Babar and Rizwan. In this blog, I'll share my experience based on various aspects so that whenever you decide to watch HBL PSL (particularly in Lahore) you'd be well aware of DOs & DONTs
~Checking protocols
How to buy the tickets?
Well, tickets are the most basic element of watching HBL PSL live at the stadium. There is no need to search at unauthorized sources to buy the tickets because PAKISTAN CRICKET BOARD (PCB) has chosen BOOKME.PK as their official ticketing partner.
So, just buy tickets from them as they present visual charts of the seats & different enclosures to give you a broader perspective of the stadium. In some cases, there are passes instead of tickets. Passes are not bought like tickets. They are GIVEN to those people who are associated with the management of PSL or PCB. I went on the passes.
~First stage of ticket/pass checking. There are more than 5 in total stages.
How to reach the stadium?
For the last couple of years, there have been fixed or authorized parking spots. This includes the University of Punjab, FC College, Liberty market, etc where you could park your vehicle, and then the free bus service of PSL would take you to Qaddafi Stadium. If the match is at 7:30 pm the bus service starts operating at 4:30 pm. After reaching Qaddafi Stadium, various shuttles take you to your respective gates/enclosures.
But I reckon that instead of parking your vehicle at chosen PSL parking spots and then relying on a bus to take you "to or from" the stadium, it's 100 times better to park your vehicle just around Qaddafi Stadium areas such as Monal or Hafeez center and walk to reach the stadium. This is because the busses or shuttles are free but they ONLY operate before & after the match.
If you decide to leave the match before it is finished, then you would have to wait for buses to start operating before you are taken to the parking spots. Buses usually start operating after the match around 11 pm Hence,it's better you chose parking spots near Qaddafi in case you want to leave early, your conveyance is nearby you.
~I took this bus from Punjab University to Qaddafi Stadium
What you must bring?
To enter the stadium, you must have a valid ID card or passport (if foreigner). Also, you must be fully vaccinated. I had two jabs of Pfizer and one of the guys in my queue had one dose only. He was not granted permission and he had to loose his tickets.
Masks are essential during the entrance process and once you are through, you lift it off and it won't be a hot potato. However, if you are under eighteen, I can't say what you need as policies for you guys change regularly based on the covid protocols. Not to mention, do bring a bottle of water because you'd get dehydrated soon enough.
What you must NOT bring?
You're not allowed to bring the outside food and in case you are hungry, you may buy food from inside the stadium and this is way too expensive. To be honest, I recommend you to eat well at home before you head out to the stadium because you should not be spending your fortune to buy a regular can of Pepsi.
Also, I'm mean you'd be enjoying the atmosphere and won't even bother about eating food. Also, you should not bring any sort of shoulder bag. I had my jacket in the bag, but due to security reasons, they did not allow me to take my bag to the stadium. I had to eventually submit my bag at the counter.
~I could spend my life watching this view & never get tired
How does it feel like watching PSL in the stadium?
For me, I had little goosebumps as I entered the enclosure. Watching Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam was a fantastic experience because these two have the best performers and they have made Pakistan proud globally. It's only PSL where you could witness ICC's cricketer of the year, T20 cricketer of the year & ODI cricketer of the year playing side by side.
When Babar Azam came to bat, the entire stadium was cheering "BABAR BABAR" and the entire stadium was doing the signature "BOOM BOOM" celebration when Shaheen got the wicket; creating an atmosphere full of every. Going to the stadium revives the sense of the patriotism and you feel proud being a PAKISTANI.
That's because PSL has now officially become the second highest revenue generating league in the cricketing world after IPL. Moreover, you get to interact with like-minded fans of cricket which is good for your exposure and there are chances you may appear of the TV screens as well!
~And this is just one little enclosure. There are thousands of people out there supporting their teams & PSL essentially
VERDICT: Well, I'm someone who had a dream of watching PSL matches live in the stadium; watching our cricketers perform right in front of my eyes. I was always fascinated to be a part of cheerful celebrations and funny dances among the cricket fans in the stadium. In this case, you SHOULD watch PSL live in the ground.
On the other hand, their are some cricket fans who are data-driven and watch PSL by seriously taking stats, and scores into account, then you SHOULD NOT watch PSL live in the stadium. That's because you don't get to experience close-up reviews, edges, and run rate, etc in the stadium.
If you want to read more blogs like this one, subscribe to newsletter. These all photos are taken by me. You can follow me on Instagram @ramis_buzz
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