PCB plans to restart PSL on 5 June in Abu Dhabi; players to serve 10-day quarantine in UAE

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to start the PSL-6 in Abu Dhabi from 5 June and all the participating players will undergo a 10-day quarantine period before they start training. The owner of Karachi Kings Salman Iqbal said the terms and conditions agreed between the PCB and the UAE authorities entail a mandatory 10-day quarantine period for players, officials and broadcasting crew members. In between there will be regular COVID-19 tests during the quarantine period as well, Iqbal said. A source in the PCB said plans were being made to fly the foreign and local players to Abu Dhabi by 25 May so that they can start their quarantine period and the tournament can begin from 5 June. [caption id=“attachment_9356011” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  PSL 2021 was postponed on 4 March due to COVID-19 cases among players and officials.. AP[/caption] The foreign and local players and officials will also have to undergo a three-day quarantine in Pakistan before boarding their chartered flights to Abu Dhabi. The Board has also hired the services of an international company, Restrata, to manage the COVID-19 bio-bubble in Abu Dhabi where the six teams will be put up at three different hotels. The PCB has managed to get clearance from the authorities in the UAE to hold the remaining 20 matches of the PSL 6 in Abu Dhabi. The confirmation to hold the matches came after days of suspense over whether the PCB would get clearance from the UAE government which has suspended all flights from Pakistan due to the current COVID-19 situation. A high powered delegation of the PCB has been in Abu Dhabi since last week to get the necessary clearances. The PSL 6 was suspended on 4 March in Karachi after just 14 matches due to a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases among players and officials. The Board had decided to hold the remaining matches in the UAE after the National Command and Operations Authority, which monitors the COVID-19 situation in Pakistan, had advised it against hosting the games again in Karachi.