LAHORE, Pakistan: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 amid Coronavirus threat.
In a statement on Tuesday, the PCB said that the Semi-Finals and Final of the HBL PSL 2020 have been postponed for an indefinite period of time and they will be rescheduled later on.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT#HBLPSLV postponed, to be rescheduled. More details to follow in due course.
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 17, 2020
The decision was taken after the English Cricketer Alex Hales, who represented Karachi Kings in PSL 2020 and had left Pakistan a few days ago, showed symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and he will undergo screening in England shortly.
An update on my situation, stay safe everyone pic.twitter.com/8mDPOBGmI8
— Alex Hales (@AlexHales1) March 17, 2020
The Semi-Finals of the PSL 2020 had to take place on Tuesday (today) at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. The First Semi-Final was scheduled to be played between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi while in the Second Semi-Final, Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars had to lock horn.
“This is an unprecedented situation, which is evolving with each passing day. The PCB has closely monitored the situation and had taken precautionary measures including consultation with relevant authorities and temperature screening of players, officials and media on match and non-match days,” the PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said.
“The PCB believes it has made the right decisions in the lead up to the postponement of the tournament that included consulting the team owners, holding the matches behind closed doors, allowing the players the option to withdraw from the tournament, rescheduling of the matches and reducing the number of event days.”
“Obviously before postponing the tournament, we took into confidence the team owners,” Wasim Khan said.
It’s worth noting that the Coronavirus Cases have also been appearing with a brisk pace in Pakistan like around the globe, and so far 184 people in the Country have been tested positive for the virus.
Amid the growing concerns over the Coronavirus threat, the PCB had already reduced the PSL 2020 Matches to 31, by replacing Play-Offs with Semi-Finals.
HBL PSL 2020 Points Table
As per the PSL 2020 Points Table, Multan Sultans stood atop with 14 points followed by Karachi Kings with 11 points, Lahore Qalandars with 10 points, and Peshawar Zalmi with 9 points.
The former two-time Champions Islamabad United and the Defending Champion Quetta Gladiators couldn’t make it to the Semi-Finals of HBL PSL 2020 and ended up in the sixth and fifth positions respectively.
Sad to see the PSL end, but health and safety of all concerned is the key, esp those who are travelling back to their homes.Perhaps the decision could have been taken earlier, with regards to the trophy…well the table-topper should be handed the trophy? 😊 @MultanSultans
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) March 17, 2020
Postponing #HBLPSL2020 Due to #Corona is a wise decision from @TheRealPCB according to present circumstances. Sad but Health & Safety comes 1st, we all need to observe Precautions carefully. #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/TNtXCwmgRC
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) March 17, 2020
