HBL PSL 6 to resume in Abu Dhabi as PCB gets all-clear

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed it has received all outstanding approvals and exemptions from the United Arab Emirates government for staging the remaining 20 HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Abu Dhabi.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said on Thursday: “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.

“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.

“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.

“I take this opportunity to thank my staff for their untiring efforts and hard work that included sacrificing their Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in an effort to ensure the PCB honours its commitment to its fans to hold the remaining matches of the tournament in June,” said Khan.

Players and official are likely to leave for Abu Dhabi on May 25 for the remaining matches of PSL 6 as the schedule of the event is to be changed a bit.

Sources said the PCB would bear the cost of transferring PSL 6 matches from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi.

The squads will have to undergo Covid-19 test on May 22. After a two-day quarantine, the players and officials will leave for Abu Dhabi on May 25 and 26.

Squads from Lahore and Karachi will arrive in Abu Dhabi on a chartered flight.

All players and support staff will go into quarantine for seven days after reaching Abu Dhabi. They will practise for three days after the seven-day quarantine.

The sixth season of PSL started in February but had to be postponed a month later after seven players and support staff tested positive for coronavirus. They included Australian spinner Fawad Ahmed, England’s Tom Banton and Mohammad Faizan, who represents Lahore.

The dates for the twenty final matches have not yet been announced, but will finish ahead of the Pakistan national team’s slated visit to the United Kingdom for limited overs series in July.All matches will be held behind closed doors, with the teams living in bio-secure bubbles.Last year, three play-offs and the final were cancelled after England’s Alex Hales showed symptoms of Covid-19.The games were rescheduled to November and held behind closed doors, when Karachi Kings won the title.

Where the teams stand

At present, defending champions Karachi Kings top the points table with six points from five matches (three wins, two defeats). Interestingly, all top four sides, Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars accumulated six points in the Karachi-leg, with Kings taking the top spot due to their better net run-rate.

The 2017 champions Peshawar Zalmi occupy the second spot with as many points, wins and defeats as the Kings but a net run-rate of 0.273 means they are behind Kings whose net run-rate is 0.697.

Islamabad United, the 2016 and 2018 champions, occupy the third spot. They recorded three wins in four matches in Karachi. Their net run-rate is 0.202.

Lahore Qalandars, the HBL PSL 2020 finalists, are fourth with three wins and a defeat from four matches with six points and a net run-rate of 0.085.

Multan Sultans are fifth with two points from five matches (one win, four defeats) and a net run-rate of -0.244.

The 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators are bottom-placed with a win and four defeats in five matches and a net run-rate of -0.936.