Days before PSL 2025 starts, team hotel in Islamabad catches fire, Firefighters rush to the spot

PSL 2025 started on Friday with a match between Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. However, hours before the first match, a fire broke out at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, the same hotel where the players were staying.

Fire at the Serena Hotel

The district administrative authorities said that the fire originated on the top floor and the fire department quickly took care of the situation. It is the same hotel where the players for PSL 2025 were staying. This became a major concern as there have been security issues for players in Pakistan even before.

Firefighters extinguish the fire

To everyone’s relief, the firefighters were on time and doused the fire soon. PSL CEO Salman Naseer mentioned, “None of the players or franchises faced any difficulties. The fire was extinguished on time. It did not spread to the interior of the hotel.” He added, “The fire brigade teams launched their operation to extinguish the fire promptly.”

CDA Director of Emergency Zafar Iqbal said, “Six firefighting vehicles and 50 firefighters participated in the operation to extinguish the fire. The fire was extinguished within half an hour.”

PSL clashing with IPL

For the first time since its inception, the PSL would be competing against the IPL for viewership. Usually, PSL is organised at a different time of the year. However, Naseer said that there was no other window available due to the packed calendar earlier this year. “It is not an ideal situation but we are confident that the PSL has its own fan base and will attract the usual eyeballs,” Naseer said. “The PSL has always produced quality competitive cricket and this year also we should see the same and cricket fans anywhere, at the end of the day, just want to see competitive, entertaining matches,” he said.

To mitigate the competition between the two leagues, PSL is slated to start at 8 pm PST every day, an hour after IPL starts at 7 PM PST.

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