LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided that it would not be issuing any NOCs to its contracted players to play in the recently launched Emirates T20 League while the Pakistan Super League’s fourth edition will see as many as eight matches getting staged in Pakistan, five more compared to the three played in the PSL3 in March 2018.

These key decisions were taken in an emergency meeting of the PSL’s Governing Council held here on Tuesday with all the six franchise owners in attendance under the chairmanship of PCB chief Najam Sethi.

The meeting expressed its concern over the launch of the Emirates T20 league by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) which will be held in December-January every year.

Eight PSL matches to be held in Pakistan next year

Sethi said that since the PCB could not force the ECB to not hold any such event, the PSL council has unanimously decided that the Board would not issue any NOCs to its contracted players to play in that league or any other league being held in the UAE.

However, it was also learnt that the PCB would continue to allow its players to participate in the T10 league which is also being held in the UAE every year. But sources said that the decision on which players will feature in the T10 league will be taken by head coach Mickey Arthur.

Sethi further said the PCB has sent an MoU to the ECB, tabling some demands, and both the cricket boards would be in negotiation to settle the issues between them once and for all.

The sources said that in view of the Emirates T20 league and the exorbitant costs of holding matches in the UAE, majority of the franchises were in favour of holding all the PSL matches in Pakistan next year. However, the PCB expressed its inability to fulfill that demand, contending that only National Stadium, Karachi and Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore were available as venues to host the PSL games and therefore all matches could not be staged in Pakistan.

Sethi later told Dawn that Pindi Stadium and Multan Stadium were not available for the PSL matches at present for various reasons but the PCB would try to make available all facilities in Multan and even in Muzaffarabad, AJK to hold some matches there as well.

“If we succeeded in making Multan or Muzaffarabad cities available with all necessary facilities in the respective stadiums there, four more PSL matches could be held in Pakistan, raising the number to 12,” the chairman said.

He said a two-member committee had been formed to visit Multan and Muzaffarabad to find out proper accommodation and the solutions for providing other missing facilities there.

But the sources disclosed that while the security agencies did not clear Faisalabad as venue for the PSL matches, Rawalpindi administration was not ready to comply with the demands of the PCB to clear Pindi Stadium as a venue for PSL games.The meeting was also informed that five franchises have cleared all dues while a firm commitment was made by the sixth franchise to clear all remaining dues shortly.

“The Governing Council expressed full confidence in Najam Sethi’s efforts for the promotion and protection of PSL,” said a PCB press release issued on Tuesday.

It may be mentioned that Peshawar Zalmi is the only defaulter of the PSL, while Multan Sultans cleared all its dues before the start of the meeting.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2018

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