PSL set to resume in Karachi from June 1

LAHORE: The remaining 20 matches of this year’s HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 6 will take place in Karachi’s National Stadium with the final on June 20, the country’s cricket board said on Sunday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suspended its flagship tournament after seven people, including six players, tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19 last month.

Teams will begin a mandatory seven-day quarantine period in one hotel and following three days of training sessions before Lahore Qalandars take on Islamabad United in the first match on June 1.

PCB’s Board of Governors (BoG) — which met through a virtual conference on Saturday — was disappointed by the failures highlighted in a report into the breaches of the tournament’s Covid-19 standard operating procedures.

“The BoG endorsed all recommendations of the fact-finding panel, including robust and stringent implementation of the protocols, as well as maintaining a zero-tolerance approach towards all those who breach the Covid-19 SOPs,” the PCB said in a statement.

The BoG received a presentation and an update on the report of the two-person fact-finding panel that was set-up by the PCB chairman Ehsan Mani to review the bio-security protocols, bylaws and arrangements for the HBL PSL and make recommendations on how to better ensure implementation of a bio-secure environment for future events.

After debating over the breaches, the BoG advised remedial actions needed to be taken as a part of the strategy to ensure the HBL PSL 6 resumed and completed in a safe and secure environment, the PCB was in final stages of appointing a globally-recognised safety management company that specialises in providing Covid-safe technology solutions, bio-secure monitoring and management, as well as response and reaction to positive tests.

According to the new schedule, the evening fixtures will begin at 8:00pm, while on two days when double-headers will be staged, the first game will start at 5:00pm and the second match at 10:00pm.

In other key decisions, the PCB has decided to celebrate the achievements of Pakistan cricket stalwarts with the BoG unanimously supporting and approving the launch of the PCB Hall of Fame.

Commenting on launching the Hall of Fame, Mani remarked: “Since earning the Test status, Pakistan has produced world-renowned cricketers who have not only put Pakistan on the world map but have left their mark on world cricket.

“There will be an initial intake of six ICC Cricket Hall of Famers — Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas — who will be supplemented by three inductions in the PCB Hall of Fame each year starting from Oct 16 this year It is appropriate that these six extraordinary performers be the founding inductees as they continue to inspire the next generation of superstars.”

The BoG also approved two amendments for the Model Constitution for Clubs.

Revised PSL 6 schedule (all times PST):

June 1: Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United (8:00pm).

June 2: Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings (8:00pm).

June 3: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators (8:00pm).

June 4: Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars (8:00pm).

June 5: Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings (5:00pm); Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators (10:00pm).

June 6: Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings ((8:00pm).

June 7: Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars (8:00pm).

June 8: Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi (8:00pm).

June 9: Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars (8:00pm).

June 10: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings (8:00pm).