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50 per cent crowds for all remaining Karachi matches allowed; Decision on Lahore matches pending

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KoyoAli

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Pakistan Cricket Board today announced the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed 20 percent crowds to attend the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021, which will be played in Karachi and Lahore from 20 February to 22 March.

The decision means around 7,500 ticketed spectators will be allowed access inside the National Stadium per match day, while around 5,500 will be able to attend each match day at the Gaddafi Stadium.

During the course of the event, the NCOC and the PCB will continue to work together and monitor the situation before a decision to increase crowd numbers for the three playoffs and the final is made.

The NCOC made the decision following a detailed and comprehensive briefing by the PCB officials, in which they assured that the event organisers and the PCB will strictly follow government Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures, including social distancing.

Now that the NCOC has supported crowd attendances for the HBL PSL 2021, the PCB will soon announce its ticketing policy to provide further clarity to the fans on how they can purchase tickets and the process to enter/exit the venues during the matches.

PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani: “I am thankful to the NCOC for trusting the PCB and allowing limited fans to watch live action of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021. This is an endorsement that the PCB is an institution, which is capable of planning and then successfully implementing Covid-19 SOPs during its marquee event being staged in Pakistan for the second successive year.

“Fans are the PCB’s biggest asset and we are delighted that no matter a small number, but some will be able to have access to the matches. Their presence will add flavour and excitement to one of the biggest and most challenging leagues in the cricket calendar. We understand not everyone will get an opportunity to watch the matches due to the limited number of seats, but these are baby-steps and considering that most of the sport events are being played in empty stadium, this is a positive achievement and step in the right direction.

“I am optimistic that if we can maintain strict protocols during the HBL PSL 2021 matches we will have a strong case for more fans in the 2021-22 season in which we have to host high-profile internationals teams such as New Zealand, England and the West Indies as well as quality domestic events, including the National T20 Cup, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Pakistan Cup.”
 
Good news.

Covid is controlled is these areas as long as they stay away from Players and staff it good to see crowds back.
 
stupid approach.

Protecitng players but not protecting the fans
 
I don't think this is a wise move. Situation in Pakistan is not like it is in Australia, New Zealand. And I don't see things radically changing in 15 days. Foolish thing to do imo.
 
:facepalm :facepalm Stupid stupid decision IMO, should have held PSL 6 without fans.
 
Good decision

At 20% capacity social distancing can be enforces easily, without forcing players to play in a hollow stadium.
 
I just hope this goes well.

Is it a risky decision?
 
Are some of you for real?
Have you seen the images of all the protests in Pakistan with 1000s of people together?!

Also there is no social distancing on the streets / outside, so why cant they allow 20% crowd capacity?
 
Good news. Is this now the first franchise league in the world to have fans in the stadiums?
 
Same set if fans litterly had no issues with NZ and Aus having fans in and now india is also trying to get the fans in which has 2nd largest covid rate

We have to start somewhere cant carry on with empty stadium

20% is good enough
 
Hopefully things go well. Covid-19 is not going anywhere for a while. So it’s worth a try.
 
This is all going to be the VVIP's who will take up pretty much the space of the 20% unless they give 10% to actual fans to come through and sit in the good sections for the price of a normal ticket.
 
Stupid decision IMO

Only way it will be feasible is that no one can sit in the first 7-8 rows and every one need to be seated at a distance. And spectators must wear masks.
 
Deewana Mastana said:
This is all going to be the VVIP's who will take up pretty much the space of the 20% unless they give 10% to actual fans to come through and sit in the good sections for the price of a normal ticket.
Click to expand...

Oh yes. Friends and relatives of owners, players, officials will get priority.
 
Doesn't look like 20% crowd to me?

NSK looks virtually empty apart from VIPs.
 
ISLAMABAD: National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed 50 percent crowd in remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 6 in Karachi and Lahore.

Following NCOC’s decision, as many as 17,000 ticketed spectators will be allowed per match in Karachi whereas in Lahore, 13,500 ticked spectators will be allowed per match.

Earlier, NCOC allowed 20 percent crowd in the special request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). A maximum capacity crowd attended the first six matches of the event.

Moreover, PCB and NCOC will monitor the situation further to maximize the chances of allowing full crowd in the Playoffs and the final in Lahore on March 22.

https://arysports.tv/ncoc-allows-50-percent-crowd-remaining-psl-2021-matches/
 
MenInG said:
ISLAMABAD: National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed 50 percent crowd in remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 6 in Karachi and Lahore.

Following NCOC’s decision, as many as 17,000 ticketed spectators will be allowed per match in Karachi whereas in Lahore, 13,500 ticked spectators will be allowed per match.

Earlier, NCOC allowed 20 percent crowd in the special request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). A maximum capacity crowd attended the first six matches of the event.

Moreover, PCB and NCOC will monitor the situation further to maximize the chances of allowing full crowd in the Playoffs and the final in Lahore on March 22.

https://arysports.tv/ncoc-allows-50-percent-crowd-remaining-psl-2021-matches/
Click to expand...

From next match itself?
 
I think it's fine I have no idea why people are criticizing. There is no lock-down in the country and there is no restrictions at all at any place. Look at India there are more cases than Pakistan and still they are allowing people to come and watch the matches in the stadiums.
 
Saj said:
I just hope this goes well.

Is it a risky decision?
Click to expand...

That depends: there are two benchmarks which must be achieved for this to be safe, yet no mention of whether they have been reached:

1. The percentage of tests conducted which come back positive should be below 5% for 14 consecutive days before stadia are even partially opened up. In other words, until 95% of all tests are coming back negative, it's reckless and dangerous to let people into stadia.

2. The minimum acceptable number of Covid tests being conducted per day should be reached, which by consensus is 1% of the population, per day. Karachi has 15 million people, so cricket should not be played before a crowd until Karachi is testing 150,000 people for Covid, every day, no exceptions. But Pakistan reportedly can only conduct 50,000 tests per day nationwide, so that benchmark has failed to be reached.

So I am not seeing how the PSL can be reasonably opened up to crowds.
 
Junaids said:
That depends: there are two benchmarks which must be achieved for this to be safe, yet no mention of whether they have been reached:

1. The percentage of tests conducted which come back positive should be below 5% for 14 consecutive days before stadia are even partially opened up. In other words, until 95% of all tests are coming back negative, it's reckless and dangerous to let people into stadia.

2. The minimum acceptable number of Covid tests being conducted per day should be reached, which by consensus is 1% of the population, per day. Karachi has 15 million people, so cricket should not be played before a crowd until Karachi is testing 150,000 people for Covid, every day, no exceptions. But Pakistan reportedly can only conduct 50,000 tests per day nationwide, so that benchmark has failed to be reached.

So I am not seeing how the PSL can be reasonably opened up to crowds.
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I do understand your concerns.

But the case of Pakistan is entirely different from the countries where covid has spread chaos.

It seems like our population has super immunity. Nothing here is closed, streets and markets are as crowded as you can possibly imagine and super congested.

Nobody wears masks. Very few.

Yet the population isn't affected. Very small percentage.

Might be a good study on immunity.
 
According to media reports, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has allowed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to have 50% spectator attendance during pool games and have given permission for full capacity attendance during the playoffs of the PSL
 
MenInG said:
According to media reports, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has allowed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to have 50% spectator attendance during pool games and have given permission for full capacity attendance during the playoffs of the PSL
Click to expand...

50 % is fair enough but 100 % for playoffs & final is a bit risky in my opinion.
 
The Pakistan Cricket Board has thanked the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) for allowing crowds up to 50 per cent for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021 preliminary round matches and capacity crowds for the playoffs.

However, following a careful review and keeping spectators’ health and safety at the forefront and taking into consideration the SOP implementation-related challenges, the PCB has decided to opt for 50 per cent crowds for all Karachi-leg matches with decision on increased crowds for Lahore-leg matches to be made in due course.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “We are most grateful to the NCOC for allowing the PCB to allow up to 50 per cent of spectators for all remaining preliminary round matches and up to 100% spectators for the play-offs and final.

“As a starting point, we have decided to immediately increase crowd attendances for all Karachi-leg matches to 50 per cent. However, we will continue to assess how the crowds follow and implement the SOPs before we make a decision on crowd attendances for the Lahore-leg matches.

“Therefore, additional tickets for Karachi-leg matches will now be available for purchase online at www.bookme.pk and through help Bookme helplines this evening from 2200.

“For the Lahore-leg matches, at this stage 20 per cent tickets per match day are available for sale. Additional tickets will be made available as and when we decide to increase the capacity, in line with the NCOC approval.

“As Chief Executive of the game’s governing body in Pakistan, it is my responsibility to urge and request all spectators attending the Karachi and Lahore-leg matches to come to the venues wearing masks, maintaining social distancing at all times and regularly using hand santisers. This is not only for their personal health and wellbeing, but also for those other spectators around them. Come and watch, but stay safe and keep others safe.”
 
Hawkeye said:
I do understand your concerns.

But the case of Pakistan is entirely different from the countries where covid has spread chaos.

It seems like our population has super immunity. Nothing here is closed, streets and markets are as crowded as you can possibly imagine and super congested.

Nobody wears masks. Very few.

Yet the population isn't affected. Very small percentage.

Might be a good study on immunity.
Click to expand...

Its hard for people to understand that covid is not creating the chaos they have in their minds. Most 3rd world countries have moved on.

Only in Europe / UK / USA people are locked down.
 
pakistani pride said:
Its hard for people to understand that covid is not creating the chaos they have in their minds. Most 3rd world countries have moved on.

Only in Europe / UK / USA people are locked down.
Click to expand...

But the infections and fatalities there are a lot more.
 
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I hope this has been done with a lot of thought and care and not rushed.

Speaking with most people who currently reside in Pakistan you get the impression that they think Covid is a fraud, won't affect them and life is just back to normal.
 
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shamaan said:
Fans should protect themselves by keeping thier masks up and use protective gloves and so on !
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which can only work until they decide to have their smile donut and tapal tea.

i dont think this is a good idea. there has to be something to do with immunity and also not testing/counting sickness/deaths as covid, otherwise it makes no sense given how lax people have been and pretty much no vaccination yet that Pakistan is reaching near herd immunity. until that happens and/or you keep cases minimized like Aus/NZ did by extreme measures initially, this can be prove to be a bad idea.
 
Executioner said:
Stupid decision IMO

Only way it will be feasible is that no one can sit in the first 7-8 rows and every one need to be seated at a distance. And spectators must wear masks.
Click to expand...

Most people are wearing masks in the stadium
 
mon858 said:
which can only work until they decide to have their smile donut and tapal tea.

i dont think this is a good idea. there has to be something to do with immunity and also not testing/counting sickness/deaths as covid, otherwise it makes no sense given how lax people have been and pretty much no vaccination yet that Pakistan is reaching near herd immunity. until that happens and/or you keep cases minimized like Aus/NZ did by extreme measures initially, this can be prove to be a bad idea.
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So they should ban food ?
In the UK if distance cant be maintained they have to have thier masks on and if they are exempt they dont need to have a mask thats in a workplace. 20 percent isnt even a quarter of the ground capacity and i think they are checking tempreture before they get into the stadium.
 
Saj said:
I hope this has been done with a lot of thought and care and not rushed.

Speaking with most people who currently reside in Pakistan you get the impression that they think Covid is a fraud, won't affect them and life is just back to normal.
Click to expand...

But life is going in Pak indeed. Weddings, shopping, restaurants but no news of full hospitals or increase in deaths.
 
Crowds don't seem to be interested so far.

I think they've misunderstood 50% as 50 fans.

Empty NSK doesn't paint a good picture for the PSL.
 
Karachi seems to have visibly lower turnout going on previous PSLs? Also I have doubts over how well marketed/accessible tickets are...could be wrong
 
Saj said:
Crowds don't seem to be interested so far.

I think they've misunderstood 50% as 50 fans.

Empty NSK doesn't paint a good picture for the PSL.
Click to expand...

This happens when you have a match every day at the same stadium, venue, city every day. Need to mix it with up
 
Not sure why are people surprised. Even before Covid, Khi and Lahore had the worst crowds for PSL in the last season. The crowds were bombastic before that in the second last PSL season in Khi and Lahore because you didn't have enough matches there but the crowds in Faislabad and Rawalpindi were the best in the last PSL season.

The PCB needs to get the other stadiums in the country up and running and needs to ensure there are as many different stadiums as possible. If you constantly play all the games in Karachi and Lahore, the matches eventually lose value.

The PCB also needs to do a better job of marketing, promoting the tournament, spend some real money and look at it as an investment rather than an unnecessary avoidable expense, in the second last PSL season where the crowds were fully jampacked in KHI and Lahore, the entire cities were filled with billboards, flowers, decoration, events, festivities celebrating the tournament, welcoming the foreign players which creates buzz, hype interest for the tournament.

I think the PSL also suffers from the lack of international class players that you find in the IPL. The PCB has to address all these things because people are not going to waste money just watching the local players and past it hasbeen international players in the stadium.
 
Doesn't seem like a smart move on the surface of it, but we need to understand that no one is practicing social distancing in Pakistan anymore anyway. So, I guess PCB decided to go with the flow.
 
Dangerous decision in my opinion. If the crowds do show up and a new wave of COVID in Karachi starts, who will be the one to blame? and it could also endanger the lives of the unvaccinated cricketers and PSL as a whole.
 
A brilliant moment with Amir hyping up the crowd, then bowling Denly to a huuuuuuge roar from the crowd!

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 55.000%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/dkmbdh" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Reports indicate that IPL will be held without crowds - question really is why PCB felt it they needed to have crowds?
 
MenInG said:
Reports indicate that IPL will be held without crowds - question really is why PCB felt it they needed to have crowds?
Click to expand...

They seemed a bit too desperate to have a 'normal' PSL.

These aren't normal times.

Hopefully big lessons have been learnt.
 
MenInG said:
Reports indicate that IPL will be held without crowds - question really is why PCB felt it they needed to have crowds?
Click to expand...

In the hindsight if PSL was successful IPL would have had crowds as well. Extra cautious from BCCI i would say. PSL fiasco would have taught few boards a lesson about to not take anything lightly.
 
Plus BCCI needs to host the WC later in the year, so better to start IPL with complete cautiousness
 
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