LAHORE: The Pakistan Super League 2020 will proceed as planned despite some foreign players leaving the tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday.
The PCB held a conference call with the team owners on Friday morning. It was decided the match tonight involving Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi match which is being held at the National Stadium will commence as scheduled.
The match will be played behind closed doors and only event accredited personnel will be allowed to enter the venue.
All the players have been given the option to withdraw from the HBL PSL 2020 should they wish to do so.
Several foreign players have confirmed they will not take any further part in the PSL 2020 including Alex Hales (Karachi Kings), Rilee Rossouw and James Vince (Multan Sultans), Tom Banton, Carlos Brathwaite, Liam Dawson, James Foster (coach), Lewis Gregory and Liam Livingstone (Peshawar Zalmi), and Jason Roy and Tymal Mills (Quetta Gladiators).
As per the event regulations, the teams will be allowed player replacements, which will have to be approved by the technical committee. The PCB will continue to assess and monitor the situation and make decisions in consultation with team owners.
No discussion has taken place as yet with regards to the upcoming Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament and home international matches against Bangladesh
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan in this regard said, “This remains an evolving and unprecedented situation with a number of moving parts that require constant and regular monitoring.”
“Today, the PCB and the team owners, as part of their duty of care, have decided to give all the players the option to decide if they wish to return home. Ensuring that the players feel comfortable remains paramount to the PCB.
“As of now, it is important to emphasise and clarify that the main concern of many of the 10 players and a coach, who have chosen to return home, revolves around avoiding a potential situation where they might become stranded either due to flight cancellations or border closures in their own countries.
“The PCB will facilitate their safe return and will ensure the same for all of the players and support staff personnel who decide to withdraw from HBL PSL 2020.
“As stated previously, we will continue to assess and review the situation and will not hesitate to make what we believe are the right decisions for everyone involved.”
Moreover, the 27th match of PSL-5 will be played between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi today in Karachi. Multan Sultans is leading the points table with 12 points followed by Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi with 9 points so far.
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