PCB, PSL franchises discuss new window for remaining PSL 6 matches

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held a meeting with PSL franchise owners via a teleconference on Tuesday, in order to find a suitable window for staging the remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six.

PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, Chief Executive Wasim Khan, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salman Naseer and PCB Director Commercial Babar Hameed represented the board in the meeting.

According to sources, Ehsan Mani displayed a friendly attitude in the meeting. When other board officials tried to point out the breaches by franchises in the bio-secure bubble, Mani interrupted them and instructed them to stick to the meeting’s agenda i.e. to find a potential window for remaining matches.

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A new potential window was discussed in the meeting, according to which the remaining matches can be played in the third week of March. However, the board is unlikely to move forward with this option as the Men in Green are scheduled to tour South Africa for a limited-overs series, starting with the ODI on April 2.

Wasim Khan was also not in favour of the aforementioned option. PCB has decided to hire an independent foreign firm to prepare the bio-secure bubble for the remaining matches of the league. However, pursuing with the March window will not provide enough time for the firm to ensure a bio-secure environment.

Meanwhile, the second option for PCB is to stage the matches after the Indian Premier League (IPL) concludes on May 30. Finally, the third option is in September as no international series is planned during that time.

Now, the board will present their final recommendation in the next meeting with franchise owners, likely to take place on either Friday or Saturday this week.

Franchise owners also complained about lack of communication between the board and the franchises. Owners believe they are not consulted before important decisions regarding the tournament are taken. Mani admitted that mistakes were made by the board and there is room for improvement. He assured the franchises that their grievances will be addressed.

It was also decided to stage the remaining matches in a city, where the entire hotel could be booked solely for the teams, so there is no possibility of breaches in the bio-secure bubble.