LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced that the on-going season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been postponed indefinitely after a foreign player who had left last week displayed symptoms of the coronavirus.
Speaking at a press conference with other officials in Lahore, PCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Khan said that the player’s name would not be revealed to maintain privacy, adding that the players from all the teams, the broadcasters and everyone else associated with the tournament would be tested for the virus.
At least 14 foreign players had decided to return to their own countries after the PCB last week gave them the option to leave amid coronavirus fears.
Responding to a question he said that the Karachi Kings team had reservations about playing in the tournament and the decision was then made after consulting all the franchises.
The PCB chief added that the semi-final and final matches would be rescheduled before the next season of the PSL.
“We have been following the government’s advice [in the matter]. First, we took the decision to play matches in empty stadiums, then we gave players the option to leave, then we reduced the number of matches, we took 2-3 measures […] but after this suspected case, we made this decision.”
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT#HBLPSLV postponed, to be rescheduled. More details to follow in due course.
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 17, 2020
Responding to a question about future cricket plans, Khan said that “nobody is playing cricket internationally […] it is a pandemic situation. Safety comes first, cricket comes second.”
A statement from the PCB said that the cricketing body would use its “reach and influence to play its part in all government’s drives and initiatives to create awareness and deal with this pandemic”.
