- Title: Cricket in Karachi to be played without spectators amid coronavirus fears
- Date: 12th March 2020
- Summary: VARIOUS OF POLICE BAND PERFORMING
- Embargoed: 26th March 2020 18:29
- Keywords: Cricket Pakistan Super League coronavirus covid-19
- Location: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
- City: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Cricket,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA002C4R0K07
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Pakistan's Sindh province imposed a ban on spectators in cricket stadiums late on Thursday (March 12) amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak.
The decision, taken during a meeting of the provincial task force on coronavirus, will begin on Friday (March 13) with fans not allowed to attend Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches.
"#SindhGovt has decided that the remaining matches of PSL in Karachi will take place without any crowd. This decision has been made after consultation with all stakeholders including the Pakistan Cricket Board," Murtaza Wahab, Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh, said in a Twitter message.
On Thursday fans were allowed to watch matches but everyone was thoroughly screened, sprayed with hand sanitizers and given masks before they entered the stadium.
The PSL - a 20-over franchise tournament - has brought some of the sport's biggest names back into the cricket-crazy country after a hiatus of 10 years.
Cricket fans have been filling the stadiums for all the matches played so far in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
Fans, not knowing about the upcoming ban, went to watch the match in Karachi in their hordes on Thursday, with some saying they were willing to take the risk of infection for the sake of watching a cricket match with international players after so many years.
Karachi will host four more matches in the PSL this season.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has reached 19 across Pakistan, with 14 in Sindh province.
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