PCB ‘will take action’ against players opting out of PSL for IPL

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has promised to take legal action against players who have left the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the last minute, with the two leagues clashing for the second year in a row. Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka has become the second player to do so, opting out of Lahore Qalandars’ roster to replace the injured Sam Curran for Rajasthan Royals at the IPL. Australia allrounder Daniel Sams will replace Shanaka at Qalandars. Blessing Muzarabani had already pulled out of the PSL after securing an IPL deal with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). “We will take action against those players according to the rules,” Naqvi said on Sunday. There was a case last year too, Corbin Bosch, who was banned from the PSL for one year, and the same thing will happen this time.” Bosch was a diamond pick for Peshawar Zalmi last time but he made a late switch to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. “Clashing with the IPL is not an issue because if players are going there, we’re getting excellent players coming here as well. We could not afford to postpone the PSL because we have no other window all year.” There have also been other withdrawals this PSL, with Gudakesh Motie, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Ottneil Baartman and Spencer Johnson among those pulling out, though most of them have cited personal reasons. The PSL is set to start on March 26, two days before the IPL kicks off across the border. The PSL will be played behind closed doors, however, Naqvi announced on Sunday, because of an oil crisis amid the West Asia conflict. The venues have also been trimmed from the original six to just two: Lahore and Karachi.