Cricket-mad Karachiites are welcoming a host of foreign stars who will feature in the last eight matches of the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) 2019 edition, starting in the city on Saturday.
The first 26 matches of the premier domestic Twenty20 league were played in the United Arab Emirates, and of the eight to be played in Pakistan, three that had been planned for Lahore will now be held in Karachi.
Many of the 40 foreign players to play the upcoming matches — led by former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, current New Zealand opener Colin Munro and West Indian stars Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard — arrived in Karachi on Friday to join the six-team competition.
In a special video message for fans, Wayne Madsen of "yellow storm" Peshawar Zalmi said: "I am really excited to head to Karachi and in particular looking forward to the Karachi biryani. Looking forward to playing in front of a packed house at the National Stadium in Karachi and bringing home the trophy for the yellow storm."
Tymal Mills from the same side also expressed his excitement to be coming to Karachi, in a video message shot a week prior.
"I am looking forward to playing in front of a packed crowd. Last year I experienced Lahore. This year, I'm sure Karachi will be even better. And whilst I'm there I might even try some of the famous Karachi biryani. Cheers guys. See you there," he said.
England's Liam Dawson, part of the Peshawar team, said he looks forward to playing before passionate crowds.
“I toured Pakistan last year and the atmosphere was unbelievable. We played three games and the crowd was electric,” he recalled.
“It will be the same this time as well and I am happy to be part of that cricket revival.”