LAHORE: With the concerned authorities in the country yet to devise a policy to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to the general public, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has given the go ahead to allow 20 per cent spectators to attend the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021 matches, which will be played in Karachi and Lahore from Feb 20 to March 22.

A press release issued by the PCB on Thursday said: “Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announce that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed 20 per cent crowds to attend the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021 matches, which will be played in Karachi and Lahore from Feb 20 to March 22.

“The decision means around 7,500 ticketed spectators will be allowed access inside the National Stadium per match day, while around 5,500 will be able to attend each match day at the Gaddafi Stadium.

“During the course of the event, the NCOC and the PCB will continue to work together and monitor the situation before a decision to increase crowd numbers for the three playoffs and the final is made.

“The NCOC made the decision following a detailed and comprehensive briefing by the PCB officials, in which they assured that the event organisers and the PCB will strictly follow government Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures, including social distancing.

“Now that the NCOC has supported crowd attendances for the HBL PSL 2021, the PCB will soon announce its ticketing policy to provide further clarity to the fans on how they can purchase tickets and the process to enter/exit the venues during the matches,” the press release concluded.

Meanwhile the PCB chairman Ehsan Mani welcomed the decision of the NCOC.

It may be mentioned here that several countries in the world, especially developed have administered the vaccine to a large number of the population in Pakistan at yet only the health care worker staff was going through the process, which also started a couple of days back.

The PSL franchises and the PCB were interested to have the presence of fans in the stadium as it will help them to generate good money and create a festive atmosphere required for the league.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2021