The problems with Pakistan Super League refuse to die down with as many as 11 players and officials have once again been held back from flying out to the United Arab Emirates. The 11-member contingent includes Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Earlier over 25 members were denied permission to go to the UAE on May 27 due to visa restrictions among the 202-member contingent. On Sunday, 30 May, 11 members of the remaining group were denied permission to board the flight after the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to fly them through a commercial airline despite obtaining clearance for the charter flight.
Reportedly this has happened due to members not having required clearances to board flights amid the pandemic.
It was an outrageous decision in itself to send the remaining 25 players in commercial flights having put them in quarantine since May 24 in Karachi and Lahore. ESPNcricinfo reported the players who were denied entry would once again enter the hotel quarantine in the two cities.
The Pakistan Super League’s sixth edition, supposed to be hosted entirely in Pakistan was postponed in March this year due to several bio-bubble breaches and subsequent COVID-19 cases in the bubble. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to host the remaining 20 matches of the league in UAE after failing to gain the confidence of the players and the franchise owners to host them in Karachi, which was the earlier plan.
But even after getting permission, the PCB and PSL office bearers are far from running the campaign smoothly, fully signalling that the scheduled start of June 5 for the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament would not be adhered to. There around 270 members of the PSL who are quarantining in and around the Shiekh Zayed Stadium, the venue for the remaining games of the league.