PCB thank UAE, chalks out route for hosting PSL ties in Abu Dhabi

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has received all outstanding approvals and exemptions from the UAE government to host the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Abu Dhabi, said the board in a statement on their website on Thursday.

The PSL 6 had come to an abrupt halt after the breach of safety protocols led to the outbreak of the coronavirus cases in Pakistan in March.

An online meeting with franchise was held later in the day to finalise all the details to successfully host the remaining matches in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE authorities have worked day and night to get the tournament resumed in time along with their PCB counter-parts.

Although PCB had got the go-ahead signal earlier, there were some issues which were pending and Thursday was set as the last day for clearance as franchises were bracing up to further procrastinate the already delayed-tournament.

But the UAE authorities did not only meet the deadline but also beat it to clear the finals hurdles in the resumption of the tournament.

A delighted PCB chief Wasim Khan thanked the UAE authorities for clearing the way to stage the remaining matches of Pakistan’s biggest professional cricket league.

“We are delighted with this development as the remaining hurdles in the staging of the remaining HBL PSL 6 matches in Abu Dhabi have been overcome and all systems are now good to go,” said Wasim.

“We are grateful to the UAE government, National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Sports Council for their support and patronage in ensuring all final obstacles were removed, which has firmly put us in a position to complete our marquee event,” he added.

Now with a few days remaining, PCB and franchises will have to pace up their preparations to initiate the action to iron out the logistical issues and safety issues.

A lot of work is to be done to bring the players, coaching staff and broadcasters. One of the conditions laid down by the hosts is to get everybody vaccinated before landing in the UAE.

“The PCB, in consultation with the team owners, will now work at pace to finalise all event-related arrangements, details of which will be shared in due course,” said the PCB chief.

Most of the players will be across through chartered flights from Pakistan as in the wake of spikes in the coronavirus cases, the UAE has banned commercial flights from the sub-continent. Along with this, another major concern will be bringing in foreign players as most of them have returned to national duty.

England, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are preparing to play in their international fixtures. New Zealand have already reached England for the Test Championship final against India and Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka on Sunday in the ODI opener.

A seven-member panel of the PCB is in UAE since before Eid. The discussion has been under way since then. After the Eid holidays, the UAE authorities stepped up the preparations to get the necessary approvals from the concerned departments as PCB panel members patiently waited.

“I take this opportunity to thank my staff for their untiring efforts and hard work that included sacrificing their Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in an effort to ensure the PCB honours its commitment to its fans to hold the remaining matches of the tournament in June,” said Wasim.

However, the dates have not been finalised as yet but is likely to be in the first week of June. Earlier, the PCB had planned to host the remaining matches from June 1-20.

“The holding of the remaining matches in Abu Dhabi will allow our fans to once again follow and support their favourite players and teams through our high-quality broadcast coverage of one of the most competitive cricket leagues in the world.”

Fans will not be allowed to attend the matches in the stadium because of the safety protocols. But they can follow it on air and through other social media platforms where it will be streamed live.

When the tourney was stopped, holders Karachi Kings were at the top, followed by Peshawar Zalmi in second on run rate difference.