The upcoming three matches of the PSL 2019 which were initially planned to be played in Lahore have now been moved to Karachi by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The reason for this sudden change of venue is the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan.
Most of the airspace in Pakistan which also includes Lahore has been closed down. The airspace that has been closed down mostly includes the places that are bordered with India as a result of the hostilities that have been brewing in the last few days.
Now all of the eight upcoming matches of PSL 2019 will be played at the National Stadium Karachi starting from the coming Thursday. The first match on Sunday will be played between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi while the final will also be played in Karachi on March 17th.
The tournament started with matches being played in the United Arab Emirates. The matches there had legs of Dubai and Sharjah. As for the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament, it will start from Monday.
Ehsan Mani; the chairman of the PCB stated to media, “This has been a tough and difficult decision for us to be made. As a result of the recent uncertain conditions that are currently prevailing in the country, this was a critical and decisive action that we had to make. We were also hoping to swap the matches’ schedule between Lahore and Karachi but the sensitivity of time right now makes this option unsuitable for us. While it is unfortunate for headquarter of the Pakistan Cricket to not host PSL matches. However, this is only a mere sacrifice keeping in view the large national cause.”
He further stated, “We have also talked with the Franchisees of the tournament and they also completely agree with our decision. We have also enforced that all the foreign players will also be applying in the last 8 matches.”
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