ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistan Super League will resume in Abu Dhabi on June 9 after the Pakistan Cricket Board said Thursday it had ironed out logistical and operational challenges to finish its premier domestic Twenty20 league in the United Arab Emirates.
“We have continued to take decisive actions in the face of ongoing pressures and major challenges outside of our control over the last 10 days,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said.
The strict quarantine rules in Abu Dhabi delayed the PSL’s resumption after the league was postponed in March when several players and support staff members tested positive for COVID-19 in a bio-secure bubble in Karachi.
The PSL was earlier scheduled to resume on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, but there were problems with obtaining visas for production crew members.
The PSL final is June 24 and the Pakistan national team is scheduled to fly to England the next day for the ODIs and Twenty20s.
The PCB has flown players and team officials of six franchises by chartered flights though some players, including Quetta Gladiators’ Sarfaraz Ahmed, went to Abu Dhabi on commercial flights. Sarfaraz was first not allowed to board a commercial flight from Karachi before getting another flight the next day.
“There was a consensus between the PCB and the (six) franchises that it was imperative to complete the remaining matches in 2021 so that we have a clean 2022 for PSL 7,” Khan said.
“Now, after overcoming all obstacles through due diligence and careful planning,” he continued, “I believe we have collectively achieved the desired objective that was set in March following the postponement.”
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