With IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup happening in UAE, PCB was forced to shift PSL to Abu Dhabi: Ehsan Mani

KEY STORY

• Cricketing contests all across the globe had to be postponed or cancelled ever since the Covid-19 pandemic began last year. The latest high-profile example is the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, which had to be suspended after 29 games.

• Now that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking to resume the tournament in UAE in the middle of September, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has had to alter its Pakistan Super League (PSL) plans.

• PCB chief Ehsan Mani shed light on the upcoming cricketing schedule in the sub-continent, featuring the IPL, PSL as well as the 2021 T20 World Cup. Though there’s still time before the T20 World Cup’s fate is decided, Mani is of the opinion that the showpiece event will also be held in the UAE. Also, it is because of this venue clash, that the remaining PSL games had to be shifted to Abu Dhabi.

• “The ICC T20 World Cup, which was supposed to be held in India, is now going to the UAE. India is forced to hold the remaining IPL 2021 matches in UAE also. As such Pakistan had no other choice but to shift the venue of the remaining PSL matches in Abu Dhabi.

• We had two options, either to cancel the remaining matches or look for a possible venue during the period when we have no other international commitments. This is the best time for us and we have decided to hold it in Abu Dhabi,” Mani said as quoted by news.com.pk.

• The 2021 T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India in October – November but considering the volatile Covid-19 situation in the country, the UAE is being mulled as the alternate venue. Though the BCCI has been given one month’s extension by ICC to finalise its plans as far as the T20 World Cup’s venue is concerned, UAE is being seen as a safer option.

CONCLUSION

• The PCB chief also admitted that the current Covid-19 situation has caused plenty of disruptions in the cricketing calendar, increasing the difficulty of organisers.

• “It is not easy to organize cricket matches these days. All the cricket boards are making adjustments and PCB has not done anything new. We cannot take any risk. It is the safety and security of the players and officials that should be our top priority,” he said.

• While the IPL is likely to take place from mid-September to mid-October in UAE, the T20 World Cup could kick-off right after IPL’s conclusion in the Middle East too.