PSL 2021: UAE grants permission to PCB to hold remaining matches

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced it had received the permission from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host the remaining matches of the HBL PSL 2021 in Abu Dhabi.

The board said it will hold a virtual meeting with the six franchise management teams to finalise other details pertaining to the rest of the matches.

“We are delighted with this development as the remaining hurdles in the staging of the remaining HBL PSL 6 matches in Abu Dhabi have been overcome and all systems are now good to go,” said PCB CEO Waseem Khan.

“We are grateful to the UAE government, National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Sports Council for their support and patronage in ensuring all final obstacles were removed, which has firmly put us in a position to complete our marquee event.

“The PCB, in consultation with the team owners, will now work at pace to finalise all event-related arrangements, details of which will be shared in due course.

“I take this opportunity to thank my staff for their untiring efforts and hard work that included sacrificing their Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in an effort to ensure the PCB honours its commitment to its fans to hold the remaining matches of the tournament in June.

“The holding of the remaining matches in Abu Dhabi will allow our fans to once again follow and support their favourite players and teams through our high-quality broadcast coverage of one of the most competitive cricket leagues in the world.”

The PCB, as per a report in ESPNcricinfo, were for players and support staff members coming in from India and South Africa. Travel restrictions are currently in place in the UAE for visitors from those two countries because of the Covid-19 pandemic but agreements have now been reached between the league and UAE authorities.

Players and support staff members flying in from India and South Africa will quarantine for 10 days in the UAE with the teams being put up in three different hotels — two teams in each hotel.

The six franchises and league officials will have to go through seven days of the quarantine in the UAE, with teams put up in three different hotels – two teams in each hotel.

Players from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will go to Pakistan, and travel onto the UAE by chartered flights – one each from Lahore and Karachi. Because of the fluid nature of the pandemic in different parts of the world, there are actually travel restrictions to the UAE from several countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which is why chartered flights will be used.