PCB approaches Emirates Cricket Board to host remainder of PSL 2021 in the UAE.

Psl cricket: Photo

The PCB has approached the Emirates Cricket Board to host the remaining matches of PSL 6. The franchises had requested the PCB to shift the matches from Karachi to the UAE due to Corona. 

The PCB has formally approached the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to host the remaining scheduled matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 6 in the United Arab Emirates.

 According to sources, due to the Corona epidemic, the remaining matches of PSL will be held in Abu Dhabi. Earlier, PSL 6 matches were to be played in Karachi, but the PCB, at the request of 6 franchises, arranged the matches in Karachi in view of the situation in Corona in the country. The decision was made after advice not to play.

The franchises wrote a letter to the board last week calling for the tournament to be played in the UAE, and the PCB has now accepted the offer.

The PCB has also canceled its booking from the hotel in Karachi where it had secured 407 rooms. The 2021 edition of PSL was suspended after 14 games. The matches were played between February 20 and March 3.

PSL 2021 was suspended after 14 matches after players and staff members who played PSL fell victim to Corona. The matches were played between February 20 and March 3. After the league resumption date was set, the franchises participated in the draft because several overseas players were not available for the PSL on new dates.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has announced a decision to suspend flights to the country from May 5 to 20, and a national lockdown has been imposed in Pakistan from today until May 15. 

Moving the PSL to the UAE will not be easy in terms of logistics and operational matters. Flights from Pakistan are very low and cricket is not played in the UAE in the scorching heat of June.

Following the initial suspension of the season, the PCB formed a two-member independent committee of medical experts to look into how the epidemic came within the biosecure bubble.

 A report was submitted to the PCB but its details did not come to light. However, the PCB then fired Dr. Sohail Saleem, head of the medical department. Dr. Sohail recently told a national newspaper that he had been made a scapegoat to protect those responsible for the mismanagement.

The PCB, which was criticized for failing to deal with the situation in February-March, has hired a UK-based safety and technology company to set up a better biosecure bubble.