LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced a revised schedule for the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after deciding to hold the tournament without spectators under the government’s austerity measures.

In a significant restructuring, the number of host cities has been reduced from six to two, with all matches now set to be played exclusively in Lahore and Karachi. The decision aligns with officially announced national resource conservation efforts.

According to the updated itinerary, the tournament will comprise 44 matches played over 39 days, with each city hosting 22 fixtures. The opening match between the Hyderabad Kingsmen and Lahore Qalandars remains unchanged.

Lahore will host Eliminators 1 and 2, as well as the final, while the Qualifier will take place in Karachi.

As the tournament temporarily adopts a watch-from-home model, organisers have confirmed the introduction of enhanced broadcast and production features designed to deliver a superior viewing experience for fans in Pakistan and around the world.

League officials expressed confidence that audience passion, combined with innovative coverage, would make this one of the most widely watched editions to date.

Addressing the absence of in-person spectators, a statement acknowledged that crowds at stadiums would be sorely missed.

It was estimated that an average of 30,000 spectators and associated support staff travelling daily for over a month would place considerable strain on energy resources.

By limiting the tournament to two cities, the league said it would also significantly reduce the extensive operational arrangements, transport logistics, and utility overheads associated with a six-city event.

Organisers reaffirmed their commitment to delivering high-quality cricket while aligning with national priorities, stating that the league would proceed with the unity, discipline, and excellence that have established it as a defining symbol of Pakistan’s sporting strength.

Revised PSL 11 schedule:

• Mar 26 – Match 1: Lahore Qalandars vs Hyderabad Kingsmen (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Mar 27 – Match 2: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Mar 28 – Match 3: Peshawar Zalmi vs Rawalpindiz (Lahore, 2:30 PM)
• Mar 28 – Match 4: Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Mar 29 – Match 5: Quetta Gladiators vs Hyderabad Kingsmen (Lahore, 2:30 PM)
• Mar 29 – Match 6: Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Mar 31 – Match 7: Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 1 – Match 8: Multan Sultans vs Hyderabad Kingsmen (7:00 PM)
• Apr 2 – Match 9: Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United (2:30 PM)
• Apr 2 – Match 10: Rawalpindiz vs Karachi Kings (7:00 PM)
• Apr 3 – Match 11: Lahore Qalandars vs Multan Sultans (7:00 PM)
• Apr 4 – Match 12: Rawalpindiz vs Islamabad United (7:00 PM)
• Apr 5 – Match 13: Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans (7:00 PM)
• Apr 6 – Match 14: Multan Sultans vs Rawalpindiz (7:00 PM)
• Apr 8 – Match 15: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Peshawar Zalmi (Karachi, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 9 – Match 16: Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United (2:30 PM)
• Apr 9 – Match 17: Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi (7:00 PM)
• Apr 10 – Match 18: Quetta Gladiators vs Rawalpindiz (7:00 PM)
• Apr 11 – Match 19: Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars (2:30 PM)
• Apr 11 – Match 20: Karachi Kings vs Hyderabad Kingsmen (7:00 PM)
• Apr 12 – Match 21: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Islamabad United (7:00 PM)
• Apr 13 – Match 22: Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans (7:00 PM)
• Apr 15 – Match 23: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators (7:00 PM)
• Apr 16 – Match 24: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Rawalpindiz (2:30 PM)
• Apr 16 – Match 25: Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United (7:00 PM)
• Apr 17 – Match 26: Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators (7:00 PM)
• Apr 18 – Match 27: Lahore Qalandars vs Rawalpindiz (7:00 PM)
• Apr 19 – Match 28: Karachi Kings vs Multan Sultans (2:30 PM)
• Apr 19 – Match 29: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators (7:00 PM)
• Apr 21 – Match 30: Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators (Lahore, 2:30 PM)
• Apr 21 – Match 31: Rawalpindiz vs Multan Sultans (Karachi, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 22 – Match 32: Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi (Lahore, 2:30 PM)
• Apr 22 – Match 33: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Multan Sultans (Karachi, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 23 – Match 34: Rawalpindiz vs Islamabad United (Karachi, 2:30 PM)
• Apr 23 – Match 35: Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 24 – Match 36: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Islamabad United (Karachi, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 25 – Match 37: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings (Lahore, 2:30 PM)
• Apr 25 – Match 38: Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 26 – Match 39: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Rawalpindiz (Karachi, 2:30 PM)
• Apr 26 – Match 40: Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans (Karachi, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 28 – Qualifier (Karachi, 7:00 PM)
• Apr 29 – Eliminator 1 (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• May 1 – Eliminator 2 (Lahore, 7:00 PM)
• May 3 – Final (Lahore, 7:00 PM)

Chappell Roan is being heavily criticised on social media after a security incident with a young fan in Brazil, who was the daughter of footballer Jorginho, and the mayor of Rio de Janeiro himself has taken action.

The 27-year-old pop superstar reportedly sent a security guard to the young girl who smiled at her in a hotel, and he yelled at the mother and her child until the young fan was reduced to tears.

Although the Good Luck, Babe! hitmaker later defended herself on social media, claiming that she was not aware of the altercation, and neither did she send the guard over, she is now banned from Brazil’s Todo Mundo No Rio music festival.

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Cavaliere, took to X and wrote in Portuguese, “I mean that as long as I’m in charge of our city – this young lady will never perform at Todo Mundo no Rio!”

The music festival is scheduled for later this year, and is described as the biggest dance floor in the world, but Roan would not be performing there.

The latest public incident follows Roan’s recent altercation with paparazzi in Paris, which also became a topic for heated debate earlier this month.

Dividing fans, and critics, the singer drew equal criticism and applaud for drawing clear boundaries with fans.

However, the incident with Jorginho’s daughter disappointed fans all the same and they urged Roan to take accountability.

After 40 years in showbiz, Lisa Kudrow is making a “comeback.” Her HBO series, “The Comeback,” is the story of a faded sitcom star, Valerie Cherish, who signs on to a reality show about her attempts to stage a comeback.

It’s equal parts funny and cringey, and so is the show’s back-story.

Created by Emmy-winner Kudrow and former “Sex and the City” boss Michael Patrick King, “The Comeback” premiered in 2005. It was canceled after one season, but became a cult favorite, and so the show was revived for a second season in 2014.

After that, it was shelved again. But now, a dozen years later, it’s back for season three, starting on HBO tonight.

To watch a trailer for “The Comeback” click on the video player below:

We went to a taping at Warner Brothers in November, and it was clear that even after a decade away from Valerie Cherish, Kudrow hadn’t missed a step.

Asked how it feels to be back in Valerie’s shoes, Kudrow described it as “unsettlingly comfortable.”

Some things were missing. Actor Robert Michael Morris, who played Valerie’s loyal hairdresser, Mickey, died of cancer in 2017. And after that, Kudrow thought “The Comeback” was over. “It was a no for me,” she said. “I don’t know how to do it without Mickey. Unh-uh. Don’t know how to do it without Mickey. No. No, no, no. No, no, no.”

But eventually she and King figured out a way to do a third season and honor Mickey, all while tackling issues like AI and a rapidly changing TV world. Among the new faces on the set: a tech guy played by Kudrow’s real-life son, Julian Stern.

What was it like to have her son on set? “Oh, it was heaven,” Kudrow said. “It’s my baby! But he’s a grown man and beard, you know? Yeah. I was nervous for him, his first, like, table read. But he was great.”

Julian’s been on a TV set before. When her “Friends” character Phoebe was pregnant, Kudrow was actually pregnant with Julian. What’s more, “The Comeback” is being shot on Warner Brothers’ Soundstage 24 – the very same set where most of the 236 episodes of “Friends” were filmed. 

Was it special being back in the same place? “Yeah,” Kudrow said. “On different levels, it definitely is. We finished up ‘Friends,’ which was one of the biggest things in my professional life, and life, period. And now I’m finishing up ‘The Comeback’ trilogy, same place where I finished the other most important thing. So, yeah, that made me a little emotional. “

Maybe more than a little? “Maybe more emotional. It did, yeah. And my nose is running now. I don’t cry, but my nose runs.

“I never went through that period of, ‘No, no, I don’t want to talk about “Friends.” I have to move on, and I want to play other characters. And no, you have to know me from …’ No, no, that’s fine,” she said. 

And why is that? “Because ‘Friends’ gave me everything. It just did. And I loved being Phoebe. I loved the whole experience. And it’s fine if all you know that I’ve ever done is ‘Friends.’ How could I not be okay with that?”

Of course, some of the memories are bittersweet. Castmate Matthew Perry died in 2023 from a drug overdose at age 54. During the 2021 “Friends” reunion special, Kudrow admitted she rarely watched the series. But after Perry’s death, she says she found solace in old episodes.

“I think I was self-conscious if anyone walked by and saw me watching my own show; it embarrassed me,” she said. “But then, when Matthew passed away, there were marathons, and I watched it. And it really, it did comfort me. So, I very recently just started watching ‘Friends’ before going to bed. ‘Cause I didn’t see all of ’em.”

She says she’s even surprised by some of what happens. “And it’s funny!”

Asked if she thinks there’ll be another reunion of the cast, Kudrow said, “I don’t know. I don’t think so. You never know, like, why or how. Maybe it would make sense. I don’t know. Right now, I don’t think it does.”

Right now, Kudrow is focused on “The Comeback,” and Valerie Cherish, yet another iconic character that audiences just can’t seem to let go. 

Is it possible she would revisit Phoebe Buffay? “I don’t know; that’s a good question,” she said. “It’s not out of the realm. I’ll just do things I did before!”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Lisa Kudrow (Video)

     
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Story produced by John D’Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler.