The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to schedule the remainder of the matches of the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) from June 1 to June 20. The players have been asked to assemble at their respective hotels on May 22 as they will have to undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine period.

After the quarantine, there is a three-day training session for everyone. The PSL which was supposed to start on February 20th was postponed due to a bio bubble breach by a few players and coaches. This led to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, which forced them to postpone the tournament.

PSL organizers ponder over overseas player’s availability

A new issue has now come up ahead of the tournament. There is a cloud of uncertainty over the availability of many foreign players. This is because the tournament coincides with many international tours and domestic leagues. Most of the players participating in the PSL are also playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will conclude on May 30, 2021. Thus many players might miss the PSL 2021 because they will be forced to chose one between IPL and PSL if their franchise reaches the Playoffs.

There are a number of international tours scheduled in the month of June. The England cricket team will be playing a two-match Test series against New Zealand from June 2 to 14. Sri Lanka is scheduled to tour England in June for a three-match T20I series while Bangladesh and Australia will play a series against Zimbabwe and West Indies, respectively. Also, New Zealand and India will lock horns against each other in the final of the World Test Championship in England from June 18 to 22.

It has also come to light that many players are reluctant to travel to Pakistan due to an increase in the Covid-19 cases in the country. Thus with this uncertainty about the players, PSL has decided to hold a player’s draft in order to replace the unavailable players.