Hundreds stuck in long lines as Pakistan Super League ticket snag slows return of spectators

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Fans had to wait a month to watch Pakistan Super League games in person after the Twenty20 cricket tournament was impacted by the Iran war.

They had to wait a few extra hours Tuesday because of a ticketing problem.

A day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the return of fans to stadiums for the remaining four games of the nation's premier cricket event, ticket distribution hit a snag.

“Printing of tickets was done in Lahore and it was supposed to come to Karachi through cargo at 1 p.m., but the flight got canceled,” league CEO Salman Naseer told reporters.

So, hundreds of fans waited in line for several hours ahead of the first playoff match — between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in the southern port city of Karachi — until tickets arrived.

“We received lots of complaints, but the problem was that we got very short time," Naseer said. "Prior to this only the final was announced (for fans) and our whole focus was on Lahore.

"Passion of fans is there … My only fear is that spectators will get the tickets, but they might not able to watch the complete game.”

Tickets went on sale four hours before the qualifier started and around 5,000 spectators were inside the National Bank Stadium when Islamabad captain Shadab Khan won the toss and elected to field against Peshawar, led by Babar Azam.

“I came here to support Peshawar Zalmi, especially Babar bhai (brother),” Jawad Ahmed said as he waited in a long queue to get his ticket. “Had we got more matches in Karachi, we could have got more opportunities to see players in action. Now they have allowed one game, but you can see our excitement. The rush is in front of you.”

And Babar didn't disappoint Peshawar fans. He hit an aggressive 103 off 59 balls, including 12 fours and four sixes, in his team's total of 221-7. Babar's second century this season was enough to secure Peshawar's place in Sunday's final as Islamabad got bowled out for 151 in 18.4 overs to lose by 70 runs.

Pakistan’s biggest sports spectacle had started behind closed doors with fans asked to stay home because of soaring fuel prices related to the Iran war.

The government had urged people to restrict travel. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi also said it wouldn’t be right to have 30,000 fans attending cricket matches every day while the government is asking the public to stay home.

Permission for spectators to attend the four playoff games was granted just 24 hours before the qualifier between Peshawar and Islamabad started. The final will be at Lahore next Sunday.

Last week, Sharif approved a request from franchise owners to open the doors to the final before giving approval to the remaining three playoff games on Monday.

Islamabad faces the winner of Wednesday’s eliminator between Hyderabad Kingsmen and Multan Sultans on Friday for the second spot in the final, with all three of those matches in Lahore.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Fans cheer during the Pakistan Super League Qualifier cricket match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Fans show their tickets as they wait for the opening of the National Stadium for the Pakistan Super League Qualifier cricket match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Fans cheer during the Pakistan Super League Qualifier cricket match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

A view of the National Stadium, where the Pakistan Super League Qualifier cricket match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United is held with spectators, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Fans cheer during the Pakistan Super League Qualifier cricket match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — One of the directors of the all-girls Christian camp in the Texas Hill Country where 25 campers and two counselors were killed a in a 2025 flood offered a tearful apology Tuesday as state lawmakers questioned the owners' efforts to reopen in May.

Edward Eastland’s words came as dozens of the girls’ family members sat just feet behind him during the second day of a special legislative hearing in which state lawmakers posed tough questions about Camp Mystic's lack of emergency planning before the devastating July 4 flood. A report of findings is expected later this year.

“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” said Eastland, a camp director and a member of the family that owns the 100-year-old camp along the Guadalupe River. “I’m so sorry.”

Eastland said he and his father Richard Eastland were on the campsite that night, and that they made a desperate attempt to save the girls when they realized that heavy rain had created a raging flood that ripped through the camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Richard Eastland died in the flood and Edward survived only after being swept into a tree.

“These girls were our youngest campers and their amazing counselors who we watched grow up,” Eastland said. “The world was a better place with them in it and the anger at us for not being able to keep them safe is completely reasonable.”

The apology came at the outset of the hearing before he and several members of the Eastland family were questioned for about four hours by state lawmakers who at times said the family remained unprepared to reopen the camp and repeatedly questioned the lack of emergency training for staff last year. Legislators also questioned several of the decisions made during the flood that delayed an evacuation and ultimately cost lives.

Britt Eastland, another director, said the camp will dramatically improve training for counselors and stage drills for campers to prepare for floods, fire, tornadoes and intruders. Legislative investigators on Monday noted the camp’s previous lack of flood training as a critical problem that contributed to the deaths.

"All of these things should have been being done in the first place,” said Sen. Charles Perry.

The panel pressed the Eastlands on why they didn't make a last-ditch effort to get on the camp PA system and order everyone to head to higher ground.

Edward Eastland said it didn’t even occur to him to leave the girls they were trying to rescue to go back to the camp office and make such an announcement.

“Every minute was spent trying to get to the next cabin,” he said. “If we had a little more time, we could have gotten everybody out.”

Camp Mystic’s owners want to reopen in late May and have said they will only use the parts of the camp that didn’t flood. They expect nearly 900 attendees this summer. Those plans have angered victims’ families, and some prominent state officials have called for regulators to deny or delay renewal of the camp’s license, which is under review.

Another of the sons, named Richard Eastland after his father, said while the family doesn't plan to open the camp if their license isn't renewed, they would likely appeal if that was the state's decision.

“We will not open Cypress Lake if we do not have a license,” he said.

But that seemed to spark disagreement among the victims' family members. Britt Eastland quickly interjected that it would be a “family decision.”

The special legislative committee does not control the review of Camp Mystic’s license. Because the camp has applied to renew its previous license, it could reopen while its application is pending. If denied, it still could operate while its case is under appeal.

The Eastland family also said it’s still an open question whether they would eventually try to reopen the river camp. If they do, no campers would be placed in buildings that flooded.

“We’re praying about that every day. We don’t know what to do,” Britt Eastland said.

Several lawmakers questioned how the camp could be ready to reopen this summer.

State regulators last week notified Camp Mystic of 22 deficiencies in its emergency plan. Mary Liz Eastland, the camp’s medical director, acknowledged Tuesday she has not officially reported last summer’s deaths to state health officers.

“Are you ready to take on 500-plus children,” for camp this summer, asked Sen. Lois Kolkhorst. She noted state agencies have shut down licensed residential living centers for a single death, let alone dozens.

“The license is a privilege to have," Kolkhorst said.

“We are ready,” Britt Eastland said, adding that he believes Camp Mystic’s broader community will ultimately “be glad we had camp this summer.”

That drew an audible gasp from some in the room, and several of the victims' family members walked out.

Julie Sprunt Marshall, whose 9-year-old daughter was swept out of her cabin and rescued more than a mile down river, said the survivors continue to suffer trauma. She asked the lawmakers to not let the camp open under the Eastland family “who failed our daughters.”

“The camp will be conducting an incredibly dangerous experiment on children," Marshall said, “testing what will happen with the first drop of rain, the first clap of thunder, at the first time a noise startles them awake.”

FILE - Camp Mystic is shown in Hunt, Texas on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)