PCB gives players option to pull out of PSL as concerns grow over coronavirus pandemic

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PCB gives players option to pull out of PSL as concerns grow over coronavirus pandemic 

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday said that all players participating in HBL PSL 2020 have been given the option to pull out of the tournament amid growing fears of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Sindh confirmed its first "secondary contact case", taking Pakistan's coronavirus tally to 21.

According to a PCB spokesperson, the board is in touch with all franchisees and is currently assessing the situation.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Peshawar Zalmi's Tom Banton, Liam Livingstone, Lewis Gregory, and Carlos Brathwaite, as well as Multan Sultans' James Vince and Karachi Kings' Alex Hales, are among the first players to confirm their departures.

On the other hand, Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators have both confirmed to Current Trend News that none of their foreign players will be pulling out of the tournament.

"All foreign and local players of Lahore Qalandar team are traveling to Lahore to play their next game against Multan. We don’t have any foreign player who is leaving," a message from the franchise's media team said.

The Gladiators' media team said: "We can confirm that none of our foreign players has demanded to go back so far and everything is normal in Quetta Gladiators’ camp."

Yesterday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had announced that all PSL matches at the National Stadium would be played without spectators.

“A high risk is involved in allowing spectators to gather in the stadium to witness the matches and we can’t put everyone at the risk, therefore matches would be held without spectators,” he said yesterday.

PCB has endorsed the Sindh government's decision and the board's Chief Executive Wasim Khan had further said that they were in consultation with the Punjab government over holding the rest of PSL matches without spectators.