LAHORE: The hosting of the remaining 20 matches of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Abu Dhabi is in doldrums as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has deferred the announcement about holding, at least until Thursday.

The decision has been taken after the PCB and the six franchise owners discussed in a virtual session the operational planning and delivery of the remaining 20 matches, which are scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates from June 1 to 20.

It has been also decided that if certain clarity will not be made by Thursday the franchises will be ready to postpone the remainder of the tournament.

It is learnt that the PCB wants clarity from the host country to ensure the entry of Indian and South African nationals including cricketers and officials that they would not be deported as both the countries are on the red list due to high numbers of Covid 19 cases.

“Following detailed discussions in which all potential scenarios were reviewed and analysed, it was unanimously agreed to wait until the close of business on Thursday (UAE time) before a final decision on the hosting of the remaining matches is made,” PCB media release said.

Meanwhile, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said: “In today’s online discussion, we updated the team owners that the PCB had been advised that the PSL had received approvals from the relevant authorities in the UAE. However, some clarifications on certain exemption requests are still awaited, which are expected at some stage on Thursday.

“The team owners agreed that if we do not receive clarity by Thursday afternoon, then they’ll have no other option but to request postponement of the remaining 20 matches.

“In the meantime, we will continue to liaise with the UAE government and the Emirates Cricket Board as they are equally keen for the event to be held in the UAE.”

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2021