KARACHI: On the penultimate day of the recently-concluded first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand, Ish Sodhi swung his bat at a delivery from Abrar Ahmed. That was the only thing fans saw before the Black Caps’ tailender was walking off. Babar Azam had taken a catch at mid-off from Sodhi’s leading edge but he was obscured from those sitting in the front rows of the stands because a pillar was blocking their view.

This is one of the reasons why fans have shunned going to the National Stadium to see the New Zealand side in action in a Test for the first time on Pakistani soil in 20 years. The issue has dragged on since earlier this month, when empty stands were seen during the third Test between Pakistan and England, who themselves were on their first Test tour of the country since 2005.

For a city that’s waited for so long for cricket to return, where streets and alleys have youngsters playing the game, it’s questionable why fans haven’t turned up. In the commentary box, Bazid Khan offered an explanation for the low turnout. “Cricket fans in Rawalpindi buy tickets and enjoy cricket in Pindi Cricket Stadium whereas people in Karachi enjoy cricket watching on television.” One Pakistan Cricket Board official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said people in Karachi have a low appetite for Test cricket. “The National Stadium did fill up for the T20 Internationals against England as well as the Pakistan Super League [earlier this year],” said the official.

Issues with attending games the iconic Test venue, though, are glaring. For all talk by the PCB about improving fan experience, something that has gone on since the tour of the West Indies in December last year, nothing has been addressed regarding that. In the end, it’s the local fans who are being blamed for not turning up. But closer investigation reveals hindrances in getting into the venue are manifold.

The biggest problem has been with ticketing. Fans, who had online tickets, had to walk several kilometres during the England Test just to get physical ones since they weren’t being allowed inside with a hard copy. For the New Zealand series, the PCB announced that tickets could be bought from specific locations but there problems continued.

Even fans from New Zealand suffered. “No one had a clear idea of how where the tickets had to be bought,” Fin Graham, who had travelled all the way from Down Under to see his side play here, told Dawn. “I had to go to different places just in order to get them as they weren’t available online.” A fan from Karachi confirmed to Dawn that tickets couldn’t be bought even from the places that were mentioned on PCB website.

The PCB has undergone an upheaval this month with the previous setup led by chairman Ramiz Raja having been disbanded and an interim management committee led by Najam Sethi having taken over. There aren’t many who are willing to speak on the issue. But a source in the PCB did admit while speaking to Dawn that “it would’ve been easier that physical ticketing booths were installed outside stadiums but it wasn’t allowed by security authorities.”

PCB’s primary task in reviving international cricket in Pakistan was assuring visiting teams foolproof security. It has meant that fans have had to go through several security checks in order to get inside the stadium. It’s a mile-long walk from the parking lot to the stadium.

“When we got to the parking lot, we didn’t know where we could park the vehicle as there is no signage,” Mohammad Muzammil, a fan, told Dawn. “We had to go through a longer route to find a safe parking place and then walked all the way from there.” Others complained that there had been no guidelines on the shuttle services bringing fans into the stadium.

Several security checkpoints greet fans as they make their way in. At a scanner, one fan protested that his ear pods and power bank was being taken by the security officers. “The PCB hasn’t communicated any such guidelines regarding gadgets,” the fan protested.

Once inside, it’s a dusty welcome with stands covered in dirt. “The plan was to have better seating and a replay screen installed at the stadium to improve the fan experience but due to a ban on imports, that couldn’t be fulfilled,” said the PCB source.

It’s a bigger challenge for differently-abled persons to get into the stadium. Nameer Osmani, a physically-challenged fan who is bound to a wheelchair, was being lifted by his friends from one stair to another as they tried to get a better view of the ground from the seats closer to the top of the enclosure. “It’s sad that there are no ramps or facilities for people like me,” Nameer lamented while speaking to Dawn.

The PCB source told Dawn that “unfortunately no venue in Pakistan is equipped for differently-abled persons” but added that with Pakistan hosting the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, there will be infrastructural changes made to allow for that. The PCB has announced free entry for fans on a first-come, first-served basis for the second Test of the New Zealand series but it seems that in the near future, fans will have to wait for better facilities at the National Stadium.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2023