T20 Cup: Players, staff test negative for COVID-19

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said all players and staff of the six Cricket Association First XI sides, who were invited to their respective central stations, have tested negative in their second COVID-19 tests on Saturday.

According to PCB, all players and staff will now enter the bio-secure zone in which they will be able to roam and interact with each other freely. The players from Sindh and Balochistan were stationed at Lahore Country Club Murdike, will travel to Multan’s Ramada Hotel in team busses to join the other four sides.

Central Punjab wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal had requested to delay his admission in the bio-secure zone and, as such, his second Covid-19 test will be done on September23.

Subject to return a negative result, Kamran will join his team on 24 September. Like the other 102 squad members, Kamran had also tested negative in the first Covid-19 test.

PCB said for breaching the Covid-19 protocols, Balochistan head Coach Faisal Iqbal and assistant coach Wasim Haider have been quarantined at Lahore Country Club Murdike.

They will be tested twice over the next five days and will be required to return negative results in both tests before they are allowed to join the team in Multan.

Head of PCB Covid-19 Medical Team, Dr Riaz Ahmed, “The Pakistan Cricket Board has a zero-tolerance policy and will take stern action against those who breach the Covid-19 protocols over the course of the season.

Update on second Covid-19 tests of First XI teamshttps://t.co/MHsVsKj3Tp pic.twitter.com/IpC0ckiKz4

— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) September 19, 2020

He further said, “The strict implementation of these protocols, which have been designed after meticulous planning, is the need of the hour”.

“This should be a message for everyone involved in the upcoming season that the PCB will take strict action against anyone who decides to go against the protocols, Medical said.

Initially, six teams will start their training at the Multan Cricket Stadium and Inzamam-ul-Haq High-Performance Centre to prepare for the National T20 Cup, which commences from 30 September.