PSL 2021 to resume in June, Karachi to host remaining games
The sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2021) is all set to resume in June.
According to reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and all the franchises have agreed on Karachi as the host for the remaining matches to be played this season.
A report in ARY News says that everyone involved in PSL 2021 have agreed on the June window to resume the tournament as well as Karachi as the venue. The bio-bubble will be created again, and the details will be finalised after looking at the schedule of foreign players and broadcasters.
The Pakistan national team will return from their tour of Zimbabwe on May 13 and depart for England on June 26. The PCB will have to organize PSL 2021 between the two tours.
The sixth edition of PSL 2021 was postponed earlier this month after multiple COVID-19 cases emerged in the tournament's bio-secure bubble. After six players and one official tested positive, the PCB decided to halt the event indefinitely.
The 2020 edition of the PSL was also severely affected due to COVID-19 and was concluded in two windows.
PSL 2021 faced allegations of bio-bubble protocols not being followed
A few days after PSL 2021 got postponed, an unnamed foreign player claimed that the tournament's bio-bubble was a farce.
He alleged that players and officials from all the franchises were interacting freely while having breakfast. He also stated that the security staff could not differentiate the players and officials in the bio-bubble from the general public.
In an interview with PakPassion.net, the unnamed player was quoted as saying in this regard:
"I only went downstairs for breakfast once, and I saw that a lot of the players and officials from the teams were mixing, and I didn’t feel comfortable with that at all. After seeing what was going on, I thought to myself, ‘Never again,’ and I didn’t go downstairs in the future for breakfast. I just ordered it to my room."
The foreign player further claimed that cricketers clicked pictures with members of the general public, thinking they were a part of the bio-bubble group. He added:
“The security personnel tried their best to spot the players and officials taking part in the PSL. They would try to make sure you were kept away from everyone else staying at the hotel. But that must have been extremely difficult for them because, obviously, they couldn’t recognise who was involved in the PSL and who were members of the public.”
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar blasted the PCB for the manner in which the tournament was organised, saying the reputation of Pakistan cricket had been severely tarnished because of the bio-bubble fiasco.