After overcoming the final logistical hurdles, Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday confirmed that the UAE leg of the PSL 2021 will finally be played from June 9 in Abu Dhabi.
In a window featuring the tournament final on June 24, six PSL 2021 doubleheaders, including the Qualifier and Eliminator 1 scheduled for June 21, will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Only 14 of the scheduled 34 matches were possible when the PSL 2021 was suspended indefinitely in March – its traditional window – due to a cluster of COVID-19 positive cases among players and support staff members involved in the tournament.
The PCB was initially planning to resume the tournament from June 1 in the Middle East. However, a visa delay issue once again held the PSL 2021 back and led to further rescheduling.
Since multiple members of the production crew are from India and those travelling from there are restricted from entering the UAE due to the second wave of the pandemic, the PCB faced a major last-minute problem.
But things changed on this front after thorough and healthy discussions with the Abu Dhabi government, which green signalled those crew members’ entry to the capital after the completion of their quarantine in Dubai.
Those arriving from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, finished their seven-day isolation phase on June 2. Teams will now have the chance to prepare from June 3 to 8th, with the opening game on the 9th scheduled between Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars.
“There was a consensus between the PCB and the franchises that it was imperative to complete the remaining matches in 2021 so that we have a clean 2022 for HBL PSL 7,”
said PCB chief Wasim Khan in a media release.
“Now, after overcoming all obstacles through due diligence and careful planning, I believe we have collectively achieved the desired objective that was set in March following the postponement.”
“I can assure all the fans that our priority was always to deliver the complete tournament in Pakistan. However, due to extenuating circumstances, we had to shift from that thinking for the remaining matches,”
Khan added.
