PSL fiasco forces PCB to delay team departure for England series

As Pakistan Cricket Board is struggling hard to kick off the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League in Abu Dhabi, which is being delayed due to certain technical reasons oversight by the board before deciding to host the event in the UAE in a haste, the Pakistan team’s departure For England series has been delayed.

Pakistan were to depart for England tour on June 23 but now they will depart on June 25 as the event will end on 24 June instead of 20 June, as planned earlier.

Pakistan Cricket Board and the franchise owners Tuesday met in an online session to discuss the progress made in the staging of the remaining 20 HBL PSL 6 matches. During the session, the PCB also provided a number of updates.

The PSL schedule will include three double headers if the event commences on June 7. However, it can only be done if the 16 production company crew that has arrived from India would be given a quarantine exemption by the UAE health authority NCEMA.

NCEMA will decide on Wednesday afternoon if they will grant exemptions to 16 production crew to work in Abu Dhabi from June 5 to make June 7 start possible.

If the PCB failed to get an exemption for the crew, the schedule will have to be forced to accommodate more double headers as it will then likely to start on or after June 9.

Meanwhile, six other players and officials including Sarfaraz Ahmed landed in Abu Dhabi.

There was also a change as Multan Sultans include Blessing Muzarabani in place of Obed McCoy.

The seven-day isolation for those who arrived on charter flights from Pakistan ends on Wednesday afternoon.

Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars will start training train on Wednesday under Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium lights.