PCB, franchises concerned about foreign players’ availability ahead of PSL 6

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PSL franchises are facing the issue of foreign players’ availability for the remaining PSL 6 matches, due to a busy international cricket calendar and player fatigue.

According to details, the sixth edition of PSL was postponed on March 4, due to multiple Covid-19 cases among players and support staff, with 20 matches remaining.

Last week, PCB after consultation with the franchises, released the schedule of the remaining matches. A mandatory seven-day quarantine period for all participants will commence from May 22 in one hotel and following three days of training sessions, PSL 6 matches will resume on June 1 with the final scheduled for June 20. All the matches will take place in Karachi.

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England is scheduled to play a two-match Test series against New Zealand from June 2 to 14, while Ireland will be hosting Netherlands for a series from June 2 to 7. 

England’s domestic T20 tournament, Vitality T20 Blast, will begin from June 9 and will continue till September 9, which rules out English players for PSL 6. Foreign recruits, who are contracted with English counties, will have to make a choice between PSL and Vitality T20 Blast.

New Zealand will also take on India at Southampton in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) from June 18 to 22.

Sri Lanka is also scheduled to tour England in June for a three-match T20I series. Although the series will begin after PSL6, Sri Lankan players are expected to leave early in order to adhere to the quarantine rules in England. Bangladesh is also expected to tour Zimbabwe in the month of June, whereas Australia could play a series with West Indies in the same time period. Final of the ongoing season of IPL will take place on May 30.

Franchises are struggling to form a suitable combination for their team. According to sources, foreign players, participating in IPL, might make themselves unavailable for PSL 6 due to fatigue. On the other hand, national commitments can also stop some players from coming back to Pakistan.

Sources further added that foreign players are also concerned with the rising cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan after the failure of the last bio-bubble during PSL 6. However, franchises have assured them that there would not any breaches in bio-bubble this time around. PCB will be outsourcing the bio-secure bubble and are hiring the services of a British company for this purpose. The board has also decided to book an entire hotel for the participants of PSL 6.

PCB is planning to hold a players’ draft next month inorder to replace the players, who will be unavailable due to international commitments.