PCB to beef up security, vigilance of teams during third edition of PSL to avoid spot-fixing

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will step up security arrangements of players and officials during the third edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to be held in Dubai and Sharjah from 22 February.

The decision to increase surveillance and introduce tougher regulations for players and officials of the six franchises were taken in a bid to avoid the spot-fixing scandal that hit the second edition of PSL last year.

The scandal led to five-year bans on Pakistan batsmen Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif and also temporary suspensions of other national team players Muhammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan, Muhammad Nawaz and Nasir Jamshed.

“We have decided to appoint two more integrity officers to be deputed in the PSL,” one source in the PCB said.

The PCB has already placed advertisements for the appointment of integrity officers for two months to beef up security and vigilance of teams during the PSL.

The source said the PCB had also changed the hotel where the franchises and officials used to stay in the first two editions of the PSL.

“A new hotel has been selected and negotiations are on. There will also be stricter curfew timings for the players and they will be advised to restrict their interaction with people and social activities,” the source said.

Last year Sharjeel and Khalid met suspected bookmaker at the team hotel that is located in a busy commercial area of Dubai. The source said that the PCB is keen to restore a clean image of the PSL which has become a successful brand now.