PSL 2021: Sarfaraz Ahmed and five others obtain clearance to travel to Abu Dhabi

Six out of the 13 players stuck in Pakistan, waiting to obtain visas for travel to Abu Dhabi, have been given clearance on 31st May 2021. Amongst the six players, four belong to Lahore, while the remaining two are from Karachi. The former will fly to Karachi, joining the other two players, before they take the flight to the UAE.

As per a report in Cricket Pakistan, it is learned that the remaining seven players, including Amir Yamin, Asif Afridi and Mohammad Imran, are yet to be granted the clearance. Cricketers who have got the visas include Sarfaraz Ahmed, Zeeshan Ashraf and Zaid Alam.

Quetta Gladiators’ skipper Ahmed, on Sunday, did not get the clearance for travelling and had to, therefore, return to the hotel from the airport. Babar Hamid, PCB’s director had confirmed that the board was working closely with the Abi Dhabi Sports Council and the Emirates Cricket Boards, trying their best to get all the participants to the destination in time.

Sources had revealed that Sarfaraz was unhappy after being stuck at the airport and he conveyed his disappointment to the board officials. Meanwhile, Nadeem Omar, Quetta’s owner, admitted that the incident showed the incompetence of PCB but refrained from staging a major protest to avoid bringing the league into disrepute.

PSL’s problematic 2021 edition

The sixth edition of the PSL has already faced multiple issues ever since its midway postponement. After the competition of 14 matches, the tournament was suspended due to multiple Covid-19 cases and bio-bubble breaches being reported.

The PCB got in talks with the Abu Dhabi government after all the franchises wrote a letter to the board, requesting to shift the remaining tournament to the UAE, owing to the steady rise of Covid-19 cases in Pakistan.

Having obtained Abu Dhabi government’s clearance, PCB was looking to start the league in the first week of June, however, multiple delays in the arrival of players and other travel-related issues have severely dented those chances. As things stand, the board might have to consider truncating the current edition as Pakistan is set to tour England on June 22.