LAHORE   -  Some players’ irresponsible behvaiour and PCB’s lenient approach towards COVID-19’s SOPs led to the postponement of the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League on Thursday, background discussions have revealed. 

The behavior of some players especially the local ones remained irresponsible during this season as they breached the bio-secure bubble, which proved harmful not only for them but also for the entire PSL, which was now postponed by the PCB. The cricket board also remained lenient towards forcing the players to strictly follow the COVID-19 SOPs and in fact, they failed to have complete check and balance on the players and their activities, which led to the postponement of the mega event. 

When PCB CEO Wasim Khan was asked about the breach of the bio-secure bubble during the press conference, he lamented that the trust in the PCB’s handling of the event had been broken. “A bio-secure bubble is all about trust and discipline. There has to be trust for players, with all the partners working together. We have to recognise, internationally, this will make the news. It is a difficult day, a lot of work and effort went into our last major event of the calendar. Building trust will take some time, but we will make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

This episode of breaching bio-secure bubble started when Peshawar Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz and coach Darren Sammy breached the bubble to go and meet franchise owner Javed Afridi the night before the tournament began. They were later allowed to effectively ignore the league’s own three-day quarantine period but later, it became a big pain for the PCB to handle this matter and defend this decision. 

Although the environment of the hotel was secure for the players and officials, where all the SOPs were being strictly followed, yet the loopholes were found later, when at the same hotel, the management allowed wedding functions, while besides players, the spa and gyms were also being used by the public as well. Had the entire hotel acquired by the PCB, the situation could have been far better and harmless for the franchise players and officials. 

Some franchise owners and spokespersons also expressed their disappointment for postponing the PSL-6, saying they had invested heavily in their team and players and also prepared really hard for this season, but such breaches of the SOPs really ruined their good work done by them for this year’s PSL. “It’s sad and very unfortunate the way things panned out,” a spokesman of Lahore Qalandars said. 

“There were clear breaches and with growing cases, we had no option but to agree to postpone the PSL-6 with immediate effect. It was important for the health of our players and support staff, and it’s our duty to protect them. “We came here because we were invited by the PCB as they were the host, and we had trust in that, but there were loopholes. There were multiple wedding functions in the same hotel with the spa and gym area had common use.” 

“Somebody has to take responsibility for this mismanagement. We have worked so hard in the last five years to bring this brand back to Pakistan but the PCB’s negligence disappointed me, my team, and the fans. There were breaches and nobody is accountable for them. The hotel was vulnerable, and I don’t understand why they had booked it entirely for the duration of the tournament?” Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal quoted as saying. 

Now the question arises here that whether anyone - either the PCB or players – will take responsibility for the PSL postponement? This is the question being asked by every cricket fan of the country, and they are very disheartened with this decision and want the PCB to take responsibility for the task. The fans on their social media handlers are asking for resignations of the incompetent and irresponsible officials, whose lenient approaches towards SOPs led to the postponement of the mega event. 

When Wasim Khan, during a presser, was asked whether he or other senior officials, would resign, he ignored the question, saying an investigation will take place. “We will do a full investigation not to be done by the PCB staff, but by the Board of Governors, who will investigate and try to find where we went wrong and what did we not fulfill,” the PCB CEO said. “When such situations come up, everybody questions themselves. Now is a time for reflection, and we will see what happens after that. Right now this is about making sure players leave and leave safely.”