All six franchises of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to book an entire hotel for the seventh edition of the marquee event, PSL 7.
Aaqib Javed, who is the Director-Cricket Operations of Lahore Qalandars, revealed the news saying all franchises have collectively requested the board to book the hotel.
The idea has come in the enlightenment of recent Pakistan vs West Indies series cancelation amidst the COVID-19 spread in the visitors’ camp. The six PSL franchises believe the situation can be monitored well once it is under the same roof.
Aaqib says handling the foreigners will be the main challenge but organizing things at a place can ease the matters. He stated every one of them can have an extended quarantine period alongside all the PSL members getting bio-secure bubble at once.
“All franchises of the PSL have asked PCB to book an entire hotel to ensure that all staff of the hotel are part of the bio-secure bubble. With this, the chances are high that we can control the situation,”
“Another big challenge is of the foreign players, and they should come in early and complete an extended quarantine period to make sure that no player test positive for COVID-19 during the tournament.”
It is pertinent to mention that the PSL 7 is set to kick-start from 27th January. The first match is scheduled between Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans at the National Stadium. The entire extravaganza will b coiled up in Lahore and Karachi considering the health of the players first.
After Karachi will host 15 matches from 27 January to 7 February, action will shift to the Gaddafi Stadium where the remaining 15 matches and the four play-offs will be played from 10-27 February.
The 27 February final will be the first time since 2017 when the headquarters of Pakistan cricket will hold the final. National Stadium had staged the finals from 2018 to 2020, while Abu Dhabi was the venue for the 2021 final where Sultans defeated Zalmi by 47 runs.
The PCB has formulated the PSL 7 tournament in such a way that each side will play an equal number of matches in Karachi and Lahore, as well as games under natural and artificial lights.
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