Picture Credit: PSL/PCB
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is prepping up to host the remainder of the postponed Pakistan Super League (PSL). While the tournament had originally commenced in February and was supposed to end in March, several COVID-19 positive cases were found inside the bio-secure bubbles which left the organisers with no option but to postpone the event. The postponed tournament is now set to get underway from June 1.
Notably, the decision was taken after the organisers and the governing body reviewed the bio-security protocols and arrangements for PSL and made recommendations on better implementation of a bio-secure bubble which was in question when the competition had to be pushed back. The key takeaway from the report submitted by the Board of Governors is a zero-tolerance approach towards those who breach COVID-19 SOPs.
In addition, a seven-day quarantine has been made mandatory for all participants which is starting from May 22. The rescheduled event will resume on June 1 with the final slated on June 20.
Meanwhile, as of now all matches are set to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi but there are also reports suggesting that the PCB is in talks with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) for a possible relocation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is because a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country is expected after the end of Eid Holidays.
All the teams except the Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars have played 5 matches each, with these two having featured in 4 games this season. Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi are placed number 1 and 2 on the points tally with Islamabad and Lahore to follow. The top-two teams on the points table have won 5 of their 3 matches.
Remaining Fixtures
1 June: Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United
2 June: Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings
3 June: Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators
4 June: Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars
5 June: Islamabad United v Karachi Kings; Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators
6 June: Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings
7 June: Quetta Gladiators v Lahore Qalandars
8 June: Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
9 June: Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars
10 June: Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings
11 June: Multan Sultans v Islamabad United
12 June: Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi; Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars
13 June: Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi
14 June: Multan Sultans v Lahore Qalandars
16 June: Qualifier (1 v 2)
17 June: Eliminator 1 (3 v 4)
18 June: Eliminator 2 (loser Qualifier v winner Eliminator 1)
20 June: Final
Squads
Islamabad United
Alex Hales, Asif Ali, Fawad Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Zafar Gohar, Hassan Ali, Paul Stirling, Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt, Rohail Nazir, Ali Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Zeeshan Zameer
Players unavailable for PSL's June restart: Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Phil Salt
Players picked in replacement draft: Usman Khawaja, Janneman Malan
Karachi Kings
Amir Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Babar Azam, Colin Ingram, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Chadwick Walton, Joe Clarke, Noor Ahmad, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Ilyas, Zeeshan Malik, Qasim Akram
Players unavailable for PSL's June restart: Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Joe Clarke
Players picked in replacement draft: Martin Guptill, Najibullah Zadran, Thisara Perera, Liton Das
Lahore Qalandars
Ben Dunk, David Wiese, Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Akhtar, Joe Denly, Samit Patel, Tom Abell, Zeeshan Ashraf, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Faizan, Maaz Khan, Zaid Alam, Ahmed Danyal, Sandeep Lamichhane
Players unavailable for PSL's June restart: Rashid Khan, Samit Patel, David Wiese, Tom Abell, Joe Denly
Players picked in replacement draft: Shakib Al Hasan, James Faulkner, Joe Burns, Callum Ferguson, Seekkuge Prasanna
Multan Sultans
Shahid Afridi, Imran Tahir, James Vince, Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw, Shan Masood, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir, Chris Lynn, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Carlos Brathwaite, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaib Ullah, Adam Lyth, Shahnawaz Dhani, Muhammad Umar, Imran Khan Sr
Players unavailable for PSL's June restart: Chris Lynn, James Vince, Adam Lyth, Carlos Brathwaite
Players picked in replacement draft: Mahmudullah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, George Linde, Obed McCoy
Peshawar Zalmi
Haider Ali, Kamran Akmal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, David Miller, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ravi Bopara, Sherfane Rutherford, Amad Butt, Umaid Asif, Saqib Mahmood, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Ibrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir Khan
Players unavailable for PSL's June restart: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
Players picked in replacement draft: Fabian Allen, Rovman Powell, Fidel Edwards
Quetta Gladiators
Anwar Ali, Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Chris Gayle, Dale Steyn, Tom Banton, Usman Khan Shinwari, Cameron Delport, Qais Ahmad, Abdul Nasir, Saim Ayub, Arish Ali Khan, Usman Khan, Faf du Plessis (partial replacement for Chris Gayle), Hassan Khan (partial replacement for Dale Steyn)
Players unavailable for PSL's June restart: Tom Banton
Players picked in replacement draft: Andre Russell