All Pakistan cricketers test Covid negative

All cricketers and the support staff of the Pakistan contingent that arrived in Bangladesh from UAE on Saturday morning came out negative in the Covid-19 test.

Only Shoaib Malik and captain Babar Azam did not travel with the team, they will join the rest of the squad on November 16.

Bangladesh Cricket Board Physician Monzur Hussain Chowdhury told The Business Post that all the members of the Pakistan Cricket team tested Covid-19 negative.

“All the members of the Pakistan team have tested covid negative. As per the rules set by the government of Bangladesh and the civil aviation authority, double vaccinated passengers from green zone country do not need to quarantine,” he said.

Previously the visiting team and the home team used to stay inside a bio-secure environment. But from now on, as per ICC protocol which has been in use during the T20 World Cup, the teams will be kept inside a Managed Event Environment (MEE).

“Previously, teams like Australia and New Zealand stayed in the bio-secure environment where the entire hotel was booked. But in MEE, each team has a dedicated gym, pool, dining area. So, we don’t have to create a bio-bubble for the entire facility,” Monzur explained.

Pakistan suffered a defeat at the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup against Australia, their only loss in the tournament.

The Pakistan selectors have sent almost the same team to Bangladesh to play the three-match T20I series. Only Mohammad Hafeez opted out from the tour, and Iftikhar Ahmed, Shahnawaz Dahani, Khushdil Shah and Usman Qadir were added.

Pakistan’s batting consultant for the T20 World Cup, Matthew Hayden could not come to Bangladesh due to personal commitments.

The first match of the T20I series will take place at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium on November 19, the next match is on November 20 and the third T20I will take place on November 22. All the matches will start at 2 PM noon.