 "Explained: Why Pakistan Super League matches post-resumption, including playoffs, are being played without DRS")
The recent military showdown between India and Pakistan had resulted in the Indian Premier League as well as the Pakistan Super League getting suspended for a week . Both leagues restarted on the same day – Saturday, 17 May – a week after the two nuclear-armed nations arrived at ceasefire agreement.
However, the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League, including the playoffs that got underway on Wednesday, are being played without the Decision Review System. DRS had first been included in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s flagship T20 league in 2017 and was also available in the ongoing season until the suspension due to the Indo-Pak conflict.
Why the PSL playoffs will be played without Decision Review System
According to ESPNCricinfo, the Hawk-Eye team responsible for supplying the technology has not returned to Pakistan following the resumption of the league. The report adds that neither the PCB nor the PSL has made an official statement on the matter.
The absence of DRS could pinch the teams that have qualified for the playoffs – table toppers Quetta Gladiators and defending champions Karachi Kings as well as Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars – where a wrong umpiring decision could prove costly and turn out to be the difference between victory and defeat.
Also Read | How first PSL match after week-long suspension was used for Pakistan Army propaganda
The playoffs got underway on Wednesday with the Quetta advancing to the final after defeating Islamabad, the team that had finished second at the end of the league phase, in Qualifier 1. Karachi, meanwhile, set Lahore 191 to win in the Eliminator on Thursday.
The PSL playoffs will be hosted entirely at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium with the final taking place on 25 May, the day Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against Bangladesh was set to get underway. The series has since been reduced to a three-match affair.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt’s worth noting that the IPL has had no such issues since it resumed on 18 May, with DRS and other forms of technologies still available for use. The BCCI, however, has reduced the number of venues in the revised schedule (18 May to 3 June), most prominently moving the final to Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium from Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
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