Picture Credit: PSL
Two battles are currently being faced by cricketers in recent times, one on the field and one with the looming COVID-19 scare that has affected many in the world. Recently, the Pakistan Cricket Board held a meeting to review the COVID-19 related issues faced by the squads of the Pakistan Super League. In a recent development, it has been reported that PCB has decided that PSL matches will go ahead if a team has 13 COVID-19 negative players.
The tournament could possibly witness a COVID-19 outbreak in the middle, and hence, the plans for the worst situation have been put forward already. The teams have now agreed to take the field if they have 13 players who have tested negative for the virus.
The agreement also included preparing a pool of 25 players who haven’t been picked up in the drafts or the replacements and they will be isolated in the bio bubble. The franchises can pick up players from the pool in order to satisfy their quota of 13 players. It has to be noted that the players have to undergo three-day quarantine and will have to clear the PCR test before taking part in the PSL 2022 edition.
A PCB spokesperson has gone on and mentioned that the tournament will be completed in the scheduled time. The tournament could be halted for seven days in case of a severe outbreak but will resume with a lot of doubleheaders in order to complete within the time. The PSL is scheduled to start on January 27 and will end by February 27th.
It has been revealed that the reason behind accommodating PSL in the tough times is due to the tight home schedule coming up later this year. Australia, England, and New Zealand have all agreed to tour Pakistan for bilateral series and this is a huge step in earning the trust of the boards.