KARACHI (AFP): Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricketers will have to contend with soaring temperatures and empty stadiums when the COVID-hit Twenty20 competition resumes far from home in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

With day-time temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), some players will wear ice vests on the field, while bowlers have been told to drink coconut water, a natural coolant.

The T20 cricket league was halted in Pakistan in March after seven players and support staff tested positive for Covid-19, and restart efforts stalled as the country was hit by a third wave of the virus.

The PSL will now be completed in the intense heat of the Gulf summer but, with the earliest games starting at 5:00 p.m., PCB CEO Wasim Khan said the conditions weren't “unplayable”.

“There will be ice vests, packs, ice collars, regular drink intervals to make sure that players are kept safe and healthy,” said Khan.

“But it's not in a position which is unplayable. It's 38-40 degrees, but by five o'clock in the evening it cools down a little bit.” 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will also host the remainder of the suspended Indian Premier League in September and October, while India is considering moving the October-November T20 World Cup to the Gulf country.

After exploring the possibility of resuming in the UAE, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) almost canned the PSL's sixth edition entirely because of visa problems for players and camera crews travelling from Pakistan, India and South Africa.

All three countries are all on the UAE's ‘red list’, with direct scheduled flights banned and compulsory quarantine for passengers arriving on charters.

The final is scheduled for 24 June.

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