LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refuted reports about cancellation of the playoffs and finals of PSL 2020 matches and confirmed that the remaining matches will be played in November.
Confirming the news, an official of the PCB said that the tournament will be completed even if foreign players could not participate in the playoffs and finals of PSL. There were reports that one of the PSL franchises created confusion by claiming that the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic had made it almost impossible to stage the four remaining matches.
It was also speculated that table toppers Multan Sultans would be crowned the winners of the PSL 2020. But Ali Tareen, co-owner of Multan, also made it clear that awarding the title without holding remaining matches would be injustice with the teams as well as the fans.
It is pertinent to mention that PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, in last month’s PSL governing council meeting, assured franchise owners that the tournament will be concluded in November.
Ali Tareen said that if the remaining matches were not staged and his own franchise were to benefit from the situation, it would be a “huge injustice”. The Sultans, by virtue of their top position in the league stage, have the best claim to the PSL 2020 trophy. However, Tareen is not a fan of the idea of being crowned champions of an incomplete tournament as he urged that the event must be finished, with local players if the foreign stars cannot be gathered.
“This would be a huge injustice against the teams who have qualified. Especially Lahore Qalandars who qualified after so long and had a genuine shot of winning,” he tweeted. “IA we will all get to see the remaining games (even without foreigners). Give our local talent more chances to shine.”