In a surprise move, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday allowed its players and support staff to be joined by their families in Rawalpindi for the national T20 championship final round, despite the COVID-19 threat.
After insisting till Wednesday that it would strictly enforce its COVID-19 protocols in the domestic cricket season, the PCB said it had accepted a request from players to allow their families to stay with them.
The board said that as part of the COVID protocols, the families will have to undergo two mandatory tests. All the players, support personnel, match officials, as well as the families that have reached the hotel already, underwent COVID-19 tests on Thursday in Rawalpindi.
The PCB’s high performance director, Nadeem Khan, claimed that staying in a bio-secure bubble for a long duration is not easy and can potentially have its own effects, which, in turn, can reflect on the players’ performances.
READ: PCB to review Misbah’s one-year performance
“In this case, the players’ request was legitimate and the PCB, being a player-friendly organisation, accepted their request on the condition that their families would strictly maintain and follow protocols for the health and safety of all competitors,” he said.
“Our medical and sports sciences department will keep a close eye on COVID-19 situation in Pakistan and if they feel the protocols can be relaxed further without compromising on the health, they will make a call,” he added.
Comments
SHARE