Reports | PSL unlikely to resume in the Middle East after travel restriction due to COVID-19
On Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board were dealt with a blow, as the UAE government has restricted travel from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the travel ban coming into effect from Wednesday, PCB have to look elsewhere to host the tournament.
Earlier this month, every report pointed out that the Pakistan Cricket Board would host the remainder of the Pakistan Super League season in the Middle East. However, all those talks have now been thrown out of the window, as the UAE government have announced travel restriction from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, starting Wednesday.
PCB were set to host the last 20 games of the season in Dubai and Abu Dhabi but the travel restriction has now forced the board to look at other countries as options. According to the reports, PCB are reluctant to host the games in Karachi, given that the league got postponed due to cases in the bio-bubble in the country.
"The PCB was expecting things to be finalised in next 24 hours due to the Eid holidays in both countries but now with this ban imposed by the UAE government till May 12, the only option available to the PCB is to hold the matches in Karachi," a source said on Monday, reported HT.
The other option - Sri Lanka - has come to the fore in the recent days, given that the Sri Lankan cricket board have shown keen interest in hosting foreign T20 tournaments. However, the sources said that it would require a lot of ‘logistical’ issues.
"There is one more suggestion to have it in Sri Lanka if not in UAE, but that will require a lot of logistical and other issues and will also be dependent on clearance from the government," another source said.
Former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad, on the other hand, wants PCB to scrap the tournament and instead focus on saving lives.
"This is not the time to play cricket, it is the time to save lives. In these times of crisis, we should be more focused on saving lives rather than playing cricket."
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