The PCB recently held a virtual meeting with the franchisees involved in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Concluding that, they have decided to end the tournament on June 24, as opposed to the originally planned final on June 20. This, however, puts a wrench in their departure plans for the England tour.
The PSL is tentatively set to restart on June 7, followed by the final on June 24. This arrangement will allow those players in the Pakistan touring party to compete in the final matches of the tournament. The tourists are expected to complete a 14 day quarantine period following their arrival in England.
“Departure for England on 25 June will mean only three double-headers, if the event commences on 7 June,” the board added.
There will be no change of England schedule due to the PSL final
The PCB announced that Pakistan, who were originally scheduled to land in England on June 23, will now land on June 25 instead. There will be no change in the dates of the matches with the first game of the tour to be played on July 8th.
“Pakistan men’s team to now depart for England on 25 June instead of 23 June,” PCB stated.
As a result, Pakistan’s traveling party will need an exemption from the UK government’s rule which specifies that travelers from red list countries have to be quarantined for 14 days.
This comes in the aftermath of PCB’s suggestion. It proposed a shortened PSL tournament in order to fit in with the departure window for the England tour. This idea was rejected by the PSL franchises, considering the negative commercial impact it would have.
Meanwhile, most of the cricketers have landed in Abu Dhabi and are currently undergoing quarantine. They are expected to start training soon before the tournament starts.
