PSL VI players draft to be held next month

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Super League VI players draft will be held in the first week of January with the action starting around February 20.

This was revealed by Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chief Executive Officer Wasim Khan to a group of journalists here on Wednesday.

The PCB, however, has yet to decide the modalities involving the players draft. Due to growing Covid-19 cases, there are chances that it may be held virtually.

Regarding the unsettled financial matters between the PCB and PSL franchises, Wasim said both parties were engaged in negotiations and hopefully, things would be finalised before the players draft. “All dues till 2020 have been cleared while matters regarding the annual fee will be settled soon,” he said.

On Pakistan cricket team’s ongoing tour of New Zealand and the complexities involved, Wasim said he was in touch with NZC and Pakistan cricketers.

“Today I talked to captain Babar Azam. He is more interested in resumption of net practice and cricket activities. Babar is of the view that once we start net practice, players will be at ease,” Wasim said. “I think within a couple of days, the players will start training and net practice at the ground.

“The fourth Covid-19 tests are to be conducted on Thursday (today), the results of which will determine the start of outdoor nets and preparations for the Test and T20 series.”

Regarding NZC’s mishandling of the Pakistan squad’s Covid-19 tests and subsequent reports, the CEO said his only concern was why their government was not sharing the exact nature of the breaches some cricketers committed.

“The players never broke the bubble and we have yet to be informed what breaches they committed. The problem is that everything is being handled by New Zealand’s Ministry of Health and even their cricket board has no clue as to what is happening. They have zero tolerance and think that every visitor is a risk to the country,” he said.

Wasim defended Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s tests conducted prior to the team’s departure. “We have firm faith in Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s credibility. Anything can happen in between a long flight, and secondly, hardly a few countries look into historic infections like New Zealand’s ministry does. They are extra careful regarding the virus and are making every effort to keep it under check,” he said.

Regarding Pakistan’s plans to hold events in the coming years, Wasim said since the ICC is interested in spreading international events, Pakistan hopes to get its share.

“We have already submitted a bid to host every major international tournament starting from 2023 to 2031. So hopefully we will host some of them alone or in partnership with UAE. Hopefully, within the next six months, every country will know what their share is with regards to tournaments,” he said.