The PCB has identified two small windows at the back-end of 2020 to host the knockout stages of this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The tournament was put on hold last month prior to the semi-finals after the PCB revealed that an overseas player had shown symptoms of the coronavirus. The postponement followed on from a number of precautions taken by the board to cope with the coronavirus outbreak: matches were played behind closed doors, while the tournament organisers ditched its play-off stage, scheduling in semi-finals and moving the final from March 22 to March 18 before the enforced cancellation. 

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo’s ‘StumpMic podcast’, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan expressed that the governing body is “confident” that the remainder of the tournament can be scheduled for later this year. 

“We’re currently looking at when we can reschedule the remaining matches to be played in HBL PSL, and we’re confident we’ll get those done at the back-end of the year, subject to obviously all things going well,” Khan said.

“From our point of view, the first point of call is to try and ensure that we get the remaining matches played. There are two small windows that we have identified at the back-end of the year.

“Ideally, you probably need no more than three or four days. So we’re just working that out. We’re going to be taking the views of the franchise owners into it, get their views on it, look at what potential format we can play.

“If you remember, initially it was based on qualifiers, eliminators and then the final, and then we moved to semi-finals and a final based on the shorter window because of safety reasons around the coronavirus. We are looking at that, and we are confident that we can get that done.”

The four teams to reach the semi-finals were Multan Sultans, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, with Multan finishing on top of the points table in the regular season. Khan brushed off speculation that the trophy would be handed to the Sultans, but also suggested that if the PCB fail to reschedule the knockout stages, it will “probably be the case” that the table-toppers are crowned champions.

“There’s no fun, right, in just handing it over to Multan Sultans at the moment? Although they’ll probably be pushing for that. Our first point of call is to make that happen.

“If it can’t happen then as other leagues around the world have done [the next step] is to then declare a winner. Them [Multan] being on top, that would probably be the case.”