KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Thursday it had decided to postpone the ongoing Pakistan Super League cricket series after a number of players tested positive for the coronavirus.
Three players tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Islamabad’s two foreign cricketers, including Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, and another unnamed foreign player, are already in isolation after testing positive earlier this week.
“Following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and wellbeing of all participants is paramount, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to postpone the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 with immediate effect,” the PCB said in a statement. “The decision was made after seven cases were reported in the competition, which had started on 20 February.”
“The PCB, as an immediate step, will focus on the safe and secure passage of all participants, and arrange repeat PCR tests, vaccines and isolation facilities to the six participating sides,” the statement said.
PCB has also decided to offer coronavirus vaccine doses to all participants of PSL, becoming the first cricket board to do so.
“The decision has been made in the line with the PCB’s duty of care policy and to ensure all participants of the league remain safe and healthy during the event, which concludes on 22 March,” PCB said in a separate statement on Wednesday. “The vaccine doses will be administered on Thursday and will be offered to all those inside the biosecure bubble. However, it will solely be the players and officials’ decision if they want to get the vaccine shots.”
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said the cricket board took the “health, safety and wellbeing of its players and officials very seriously.”
Pakistan Super League cricket series postponed with ‘immediate effect’
https://arab.news/9y9n9
Pakistan Super League cricket series postponed with ‘immediate effect’
- PCB says decision made after seven coronavirus cases reported in the competition
- Says will focus on the secure passage of all participants, arrange tests, vaccines
How political tensions between India, Pakistan might make their way into English cricket
- BBC reported last week Indian Premier League-owned franchises in England’s The Hundred will not consider Pakistani players
- Of 964 total cricketers that have registered for auction in The Hundred, 67 players— 63 men and four women— are from Pakistan
Geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan might be spilling over into English cricket.
Four of the eight franchises in England’s newest cricket competition — The Hundred — are at least part-owned by Indian investors who also control teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
No Pakistan player has featured in the IPL since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, and the BBC reported last week that the IPL-owned franchises in The Hundred — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds — would not be considering any Pakistan cricketers when the player auction takes place across March 11-12. None of those four teams have officially commented on the BBC report.
Last year, Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said the governing body was “aware” of playing restrictions on Pakistani players in the IPL and other cricket leagues where there are Indian investors, but insisted that “won’t be happening” in The Hundred.
The ECB sent an email on Sunday to the eight franchises in The Hundred, reminding them of their responsibilities and warning them that action would be taken if there is any evidence of discrimination, including ignoring players based on nationality.
Britain’s Press Association also reported that if any proof was forthcoming, the matter would likely be referred to the Cricket Regulator — an independent body responsible for monitoring compliance with the game’s regulations — while the ECB may take separate action, too.
The ECB has retained full ownership of the 100-ball competition and its regulations, but has sold stakes in it to big-business investors from India and the United States to generate hundreds of millions of pounds to safeguard the financially stricken domestic game in England.
Of the 964 players up for auction in The Hundred, a total of 67 players — 63 men and four women — are from Pakistan.
There were no Pakistan players selected at last year’s auction — made before the new investors got involved in The Hundred franchises — although pacer Mohammad Amir and allrounder Imad Wasim featured as replacements.
Most of Pakistan’s highest-profile players were unavailable for some of the 2025 tournament because of Pakistan’s international schedule. This year, Pakistan has two tests in the West Indies during The Hundred tournament and begins a three-test series against England soon after the final.
Previously, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf (Welsh Fire), Shadab Khan (Birmingham Phoenix), Wasim (Trent Rockets) and Amir (Oval Invincibles) have been among the leading Pakistani players to have featured in The Hundred.
Harry Brook, who captains England’s limited-overs teams, will play for Sunrisers Leeds after being signed as the highest-paid player in The Hundred and said it would be “a shame” if Pakistan players were excluded from franchises.
“Pakistan have been a great cricket nation for many years and have some awesome players, some of the best players in the world,” said Brook, speaking while representing England at the T20 World Cup being held in India and Sri Lanka.
The 2026 edition of The Hundred is scheduled to run from July 21-Aug. 16. The competition, created to attract younger fans to the sport in England, has been running since 2021.
Political tension between Pakistan and India has meant there has been no bilateral cricket between the two nations since Pakistan toured India for a white-ball series in 2012.
