PSL knockout stage may happen after T20 World Cup: Salman Iqbal

KARACHI: Owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings, Mr Salman Iqbal, has said that the knockout stage of the Twenty20 league will be played sometime this year.

Speaking to BBC,  the Karachi Kings owner said that the decision to postpone the league was taken due to the emergency situation arising out of coronavirus threat and the remaining three matches (two semi-finals and final) will now be played sometime this year.

“It will happen this year, we are looking for the six or seven-day window, predominantly after the world cup (T20) in Australia, I think that will be the best time,” said Salman Iqbal.

Salman Iqbal, who is also the President and CEO of ARY Digital Network, owns the most popular franchise of the league and his team was about to clash with Lahore Qalandars in the PSL 5 semi-final just before the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced to postpone and reschedule the remaining three matches.

Some foreign players had withdrawn from the league while the PCB decided that concluding matches in Karachi and Lahore will be played behind closed doors due to coronavirus threat.

Spectators who had purchased tickets for matches in advance were given full refund as per the PCB ticketing policy.