Dawid Malan reveals a fan entered Peshawar’s change room during the PSL final

A young fan reportedly was able to gain access to Peshawar Zalmi’s dressing room to the otherwise well-executed security operations during the Pakistan Super League(PSL) final in Lahore last week.

The male fan, who was identified to be in his mid-teens was able to make his way into the dressing room before the start of the match at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Some of the Peshawar players came across a fan as they made their way towards the dressing room just ahead of the commencement of the match. As per the English batsman Dawid Malan, one of the four foreign players with Peshawar who chose to travel to Lahore, the fan was dressed in a “green Pakistan suit” with the Pakistan flag painted on his face and began requesting selfies with the players.

Malan pointed the fan out to a security guard, and he was promptly removed. Coln. Mohammad Azam Khan, head of PSL security and the general manager of Vigilance, PCB told ESPNcricinfo that the fan came from the Patron’s enclosure.

The enclosure was adjacent to the dressing rooms, and in the fans’ rush to get autographs from the players as they were entering the dressing-room area, he was herded along with them into the change room. Azam said the fan was removed from the room as soon as this was discovered.

“It was concerning that, with all the checks, he was able to get in so easily,” Malan told ESPNcricinfo. “He kind of got in at a time when all the players were walking in, and he somehow managed to get in as well”.

The level of security, excluding this incident was top notch and almost unprecedented. The ICC and the FICA had sent their security advisors to assess and help the board organise the finals at Lahore. Over 100,000 soldiers were reportedly deployed for the finals, which included Punjab police and Pakistan’s paramilitary force- Rangers.

The Nisthar Park compound was surrounded by massive metal gates, and the spectators could only enter the venue after three levels of security, some of which took place at a two-kilometre perimeter around the venue. No public vehicle was allowed within a kilometre of the stadium, with CCTV constantly monitoring the situation.

In addition to bomb-proof buses and a heavy-artillery that they had in the stadium, there were also snipers at high vantage points, including the roof of the Gaddafi Stadium. The final itself took place without any such incidents, with the Peshawar team beating Quetta Gladiators by 58 runs.

After the post-match presentation, the players had around 20 minutes to change before they were taken from the stadium straight to Lahore airport. Their stay in the city was just around 24 hours, Malan and his team-mates got to the players’ hotel where the fans got too close to them.

Malan mentioned that if these small incidents are taken into account correctly, International matches could be conducted at Lahore.