PSL 2021: PCB confirms multiple bio-bubble breaches during the tournament

Back in March, the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) had to be postponed after several cases of COVID-19 came to the fore. In the meantime, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) independent fact-finding committee has confirmed that there were multiple breaches of the bio-security bubbles in Karachi during the tournament that started in February.

Earlier, the organisers decided to conduct the tournament, only at the National Stadium in Karachi and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. But a number of local players, foreign players, and members of the support staff were tested positive for the coronavirus and things started to look ugly. Thereafter, the PCB was forced to defer the event for an indefinite period of time.

10 matches out of 34 have taken place in PSL 2021

To delve deep into the matter, the PCB roped in a two-member committee to determine the happenings inside the bio-bubble. As per reports in The Times of India (TOI), Dr. Salma Muhammad Abbas and Dr. Syed Faisal Mahmood have submitted their report to the PCB. It’s learned that several bio-bubble breaches took place and a single player or team owner wasn’t responsible.

The PCB will now be studying the report before coming to a conclusion. 34 matches were scheduled for PSL 2021, but 10 have been possible until now. Among big names, Fawad Ahmed, Tom Banton, and Lewis Gregory fell prey to COVID-19. The source also mentioned that the stakeholders brought the cases of breaches to the PCB officials, but appropriate steps weren’t taken.

Back on March 4, Dr. Sohail Saleem, the head of the PCB’s medical and sports sciences department, stepped down from his position to the PCB board chairman after PSL 2021 was postponed. In another development, it was learned that the PCB is looking to conduct the remaining games from June 2 to June 20. The PCB also chalked out a plan of conducting double-headers.

The first option included eight straight double-headers with 16 games scheduled in 10 days. There will also be a mandatory quarantine period and a decision is likely to be taken in the near future. The new window, however, won’t clash with the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), scheduled to take place from April 9 to May 30.