Terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility, saying the blast was in response to Pakistan military operations.

Lahore is due to host the final of this year’s PSL as part of chairman Najam Sethi’s grand ambition to bring cricket back to the country.

Foreign players in the league were briefed ahead of the tournament, Sethi reassuring them of their safety in Lahore and the security measures being put in place by the PCB.

That argument will be significantly harder to sell following news of this attack which will be another setback in Pakistan’s bid to see international tours and cricket of significant international interest returning to the country.

Pakistan has been without such cricket since 2009 when the Sri Lanka team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore.

It is also another serious blow to the league, which has already been hit by a spot fixing scandal on its first weekend that saw Pakistan and Islamabad United players Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif sent home and suspended, with three more players quizzed.

Shortly after the news of the Lahore tragedy emerged, PSL chairman Najam Sethi also took to Twitter to confirm Pakistan international Nasir Jamshed has been provisionally suspended by the PCB from all forms of cricket in the latest crackdown on spot fixing.

The PCB has booked Dubai International Stadium as a backup option for next month’s final.