PSL to go ahead despite 10 foreign cricketers leaving

  Pakistan Super League will go ahead despite coronavirus outbreak and withdrawal Friday of 10 foreign players.

Pakistan Cricket Board said English players Alex Hales, Tymal Mills, Jason Roy, James Vince, Tom Banton, Liam Dawson, Lewis Gregory and Liam Livingstone are among those who will be flying home.

Carlos Brathwaite of West Indies and Rilee Rossouw of South Africa will also be leaving Twenty20 event.

All players were given option of returning home after a conference call between PCB officials and franchise owners on Friday.

“It is important to emphasize and clarify that main concern of many of players who have chosen to return home revolves around avoiding a potential situation where y might become stranded eir due to flight cancellations or border closures in ir own countries,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said in a statement. “We will continue to assess and review situation and will t hesitate to make what we believe are right decisions for everyone involved.”

While PCB has yet to decide wher four remaining games in Lahore — including final on March 22 — will be played without fans, it has already anunced that four matches in Karachi’s 33,000-seat National Stadium will be played without spectators.

Peshawar Zalmi, which will take on Multan Sultans in Karachi, will be most affected with withdrawal of foreign players after Brathwaite, Dawson, Gregory, Livingstone and Banton decided to go home.

re have been more than 128,000 cases and 4,700 deaths globally since virus outbreak started late last year.

Most people quickly recover from virus after experiencing only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

According to World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks.