The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has received permission from the UAE government to complete the remainder of the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Abu Dhabi.
The board confirmed that they have received all necessary approvals from the local authorities and will hold an online meeting with the franchises to update them on the developments.
“We are delighted with this development as the remaining hurdles in the staging of the remaining HBL PSL 6 matches in Abu Dhabi have been overcome and all systems are now good to go,” PCB's chief executive Wasim Khan said.
“We are grateful to the UAE government, National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Sports Council for their support and patronage in ensuring all final obstacles were removed, which has firmly put us in a position to complete our marquee event.”
He also added, “The PCB, in consultation with the team owners, will now work at pace to finalise all event-related arrangements, details of which will be shared in due course."
The tournament started on February 20 in a bio-bubble in Karachi but was postponed indefinitely after 14 matches when Australia’s Fawad Ahmed tested positive for COVID-19 just before the clash between Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United. Later on, three more cases were observed across teams and the league had to be called off citing health concerns.
Post that, the PCB opted to carry on with the tournament in a stricter bio-bubble setup in Karachi from June 1. However, with the condition worsening, the franchises wrote to the PCB to consider moving the tournament out of the country.
Meanwhile, the UAE government has insisted that anyone coming into the country should be vaccinated, to which the PCB opined that it has no control over television crew and technicians who might come in from different countries.
Post this, the PCB and the Emirates Cricket Board had a meeting to resolve this matter. It has been understood that all parties agreed to wait for 24 hours including the six PSL franchises who were also informed of the developments.
Featured image : AFP / Asif Hassan
