The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday issued new points of amendment for the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) playing conditions and general guidelines for fans.
Notably, the upcoming seventh season of the T20 league will begin in Karachi January 27.
Some of the amendments to the playing conditions issued by the PCB are:
- If a team loses players due to positive results, it can seek the Technical Committee’s approval for replacement players from the reserve pool of players (Clause 1.2.5.1).
- A team must have at least 13 players who are COVID-19 negative in order for a match to take place (Clause 1.2.5.2).
- Playing line-up must comprise a minimum of seven and a maximum of eight local players including an emerging player. However, if a team is affected by Covid to the extent that it is impossible for it to create a playing 11 in accordance with the relevant requirements, the requirements will stand waived to the necessary extent (Clause 1.2.5)
Notably, the HBL PSL 2022, the PCB’s marquee event, will begin from January 27 in Karachi before moving to Lahore for the second phase.
The upcoming season will be staged in two phases with the first one to be held in Karachi while the second and last phase will be held in Lahore. Each phase will consist of 15 matches each.
Following an opening ceremony, defending champions Multan Sultans will take on hosts and 2020 champions Karachi Kings at the National Stadium in Karachi, which will begin at 7pm PKT.
Later, 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators will face 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi on the following day.
Meanwhile, the PCB had also finalised the health and safety protocols for the upcoming event amid the massive in in Covid-19 infections in Pakistan and had acknowledged the players and people assocaited with the tournament in this regard.
The Pakistan board had said that anyone who fails to follow the protocols will face five penalties depending on the nature of the violation, which includes five to 25% and 25% to 50% match fee deductions. As per the PCB, serious violations could lead to elimination from the team and the committee will have the right to impose severe punishment on different cases of violation.
The list of minor violations include several things such as not keeping a distance of six feet, sharing water bottles, kits, towels, and different items, shaking hands before or after the matches, not picking up laundry from the ground or dressing room, using isolation rooms without permission, getting physiotherapy or massages without a mask, getting physiotherapy for more than 15 minutes, etc.
On the other hand, the major violations include: Calling someone in your room apart from the maintenance staff, not wearing a mask where required, ordering something in a room without the permission of the manager of bio-secure bubble, not informing the integrity manager of your symptoms, taking medicines to reduce symptoms or to affect test results, meeting someone who has covid symptoms or is positive for the virus, telling someone else about the cases or symptoms outside the bubble.
Significantly, after the abrupt postponement of the West Indies tour of Pakistan due to the emergence of Covid-19 cases inside the secure bio-bubble, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is extra cautious for the upcoming PSL season.
In December 2021, the Covid-19 outbreak in the West Indies camp had led to the postponement of the ODI series between touring West Indies and hosts Pakistan. The ODI series will now be played in June 2022.
Schedule for PSL 7:
{Matches from January 27 to February 7 will be played in Karachi; matches from Feb 10-27 to be played in Lahore)
27 Jan – Karachi Kings vs Multan Sultans
28 Jan – Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi
29 Jan – Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars; Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators
30 Jan – Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United; Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars
31 Jan – Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans
1 Feb – Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans
2 Feb – Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars
3 Feb – Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United
4 Feb – Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi
5 Feb – Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars; Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans
6 Feb – Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United
7 Feb – Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars
10 Feb – Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi
11 Feb – Lahore Qalandars vs Multan Sultans
12 Feb – Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators
13 Feb – Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings; Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators
14 Feb – Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings
15 Feb – Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators
16 Feb – Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings
17 Feb – Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi
18 Feb – Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators; Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings
19 Feb – Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United
20 Feb – Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings; Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United
21 Feb – Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi
23 Feb – Qualifier (1 vs 2)
24 Feb – Eliminator 1 (3 vs 4)
25 Feb – Eliminator 2 (Loser Qualifier 1 vs Winner Eliminator 1)
27 Feb – (Qualifier v Eliminator 2) Final