Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesperson Sami-ul-Hasan Burney has clarified that it is totally baseless to blame the Peshawar Zalmi team for postponing the Pakistan Super League (PSL-6).
Sami Burney said this while issuing a statement regarding the sixth edition of PSL and its postponement after the emergence of coronavirus cases. “Not a single player or official of Peshawar Zalmi team was tested positive, which is clear sign of their commitment towards the spirit of the game and following the SOPs to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” the spokesperson said.
Regarding the news of breaching the SOPs by Javed Afridi, Wahab Riaz and Darren Sammy, Sami said that they apologized for it and later, they isolated themselves but fortunately their tests were negative. “After the written apology and medical test of the three individuals, the technical committee of the event allowed them to participate in the tournament.”
It is worth mentioning here that on special media, PSL franchise, Peshawar Zalmi, is being widely discussed and blamed for postponing the PSL-6. It is true that Zamli’s players Wahab Riaz and Darren Sammy breached the SOPs of the league, and strict action by the PCB was taken against them while the same was done by Zalmi owner Javed Afridi, when he was captured while having selfies with “Pawri Girl” in the stadium, but later it was clarified by the PCB that these three isolated themselves and their tests were negative. They also apologized and they were allowed by the PSL technical committee. So it doesn’t make sense to just blame the single franchise for the postponement of the PSL-6.