Remaining PSL 6 matches likely to be held in May: sources

KARACHI: As the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches had to be postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus in the bio-secure bubble, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is looking for a window to hold the remaining 20 matches.

According to sources, May 2021 is the most likely time to hold the remaining matches, however, it will be a challenge for the PCB because of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which ends in June.

“PCB may opt for a window in the second week of May after the series against Zimbabwe,” a source said, adding that two other windows option could be September before New Zealand’s tour to Pakistan or December.

If PCB opts for May as the window, which – according to sources – is highly likely, then teams may have to lose some players to IPL.

Chris Lynn, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Chris Gayle, Ben Cutting, David Miller, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rehman and Dan Christian are also drafted to play in IPL as well.

If such a scenario happens, the PCB would allow franchises to pick replacement players.

Another window that the PCB is trying to explore is September, before the arrival of the series against New Zealand.

PCB chief executive Wasim Khan had earlier said that the board will work together with all stakeholders to find a suitable window to organise the remaining matches of PSL.

"If you want to find a window, you will but there is a lot of cricket happening. You'll have to think of players’ workload as well. There are options and we'll explore them with all the stakeholders before reaching a conclusion,” he had said.