Postponement of PSL 6 will affect revival of cricket in Pakistan: Inzamam

Pakistan’s legendary former captain Inzamamul Haq, in a Youtube video on Thursday, stated that the postponement of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six will affect the revival of cricket in Pakistan.

The HBL PSL season six was postponed indefinitely after multiple cases of coronavirus were reported of the players and support staff involved which has also raised several questions about the bio-bubbles instituted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Inzamam argued that foreign players can now claim that the arrangements of the PCB are inadequate which can create problems in the future.

“Players can say that the arrangements in Pakistan are not adequate. This happened last time as well. This can create future problems. Other teams might have issues now. We are already hearing that some players have returned their tickets, citing either their board or country as the source that is warning them. The doors of cricket had opened in Pakistan. Now, will other countries send their players to our country?” Inzamam said.

The former captain stressed that this matter needed to be taken seriously and the culprits needed to be punished in order to set an example for the future.

“This is a point to ponder. Just because we needed to hold this tournament to satisfy the sponsors, our mistakes have cost us in such a massive manner. If we don’t take this matter seriously and try to sweep it under the rug then in the future this will happen again. They should pinpoint the culprits and distance them from the entire thing. They need to show that they can take action in order to show people outside of the country. Another thing is that this will set a precedent. People will be afraid to make mistakes in the future. This could create problems for our country in the future,” he said. 

Inzamam believed that more tests could potentially reveal more positive cases since everyone was at the same hotel.

“I don’t think anyone heard this news and wasn't saddened. It should be taken very seriously. I think this should be investigated at the highest level. They should find out the culprits. They should investigate who broke the bubble and how it was done. I think this matter is of grave concern,” he said.

“All teams were in the same hotel. I am concerned that if they take more tests some more players might return positive. Now they need to send the message that look we made a mistake but we took decisive action on it,” he concluded.