England-bound cricketers not to rejoin families before departure
By Abdul Mohi Shah
ISLAMABAD: Cricketers to be selected for the tour to England may not have the second chance to join their families once they become part of short training camp that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to organise late June.
The News has learnt from well-placed sources that around 25 to 30 players who are to be called for training camp would not be allowed to rejoin their families before their departure to England.
“We have to take all precautionary measures before the start of training camp and one of the probabilities is not to allow around 25 selected players to rejoin their families once they become part of the training camp. All the players have to undergo COVID-19 tests before joining the camp. These will be in a sort of quarantine from outer world. The selected players will be flown straight to England and where these will again be tested and would be put under 14-day quarantine before starting their training and practice. That is one of the reasons we are planning to have a short training camp,” a source within the Board when contacted said. It is believed that around 25 cricketers plus 13 to 15 officials would become part of the touring party. “Considering the strength of cricketers we would be needing larger number of support staff to accompany the team. Obviously all those cricketers who would be picked for the T20 series would also be part of the touring party. You cannot take risks and just pick cricketers for the Test series only. All the aspirants for the Test as well as for the T20 series would become part of the touring party.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan are closely monitoring the outcome of the West Indies and England series set to begin at Ageas Bowl from July 8 followed by two more Tests at Old Trafford.
“Yes, obviously we hope and pray that the West Indies tour to England goes ahead in the safest possible atmosphere. Our tour to England largely depends on the success of West Indies tour. We would take the tour to England once we get the required NOC from the Federal Government and that is only possible if the initial stage of the West Indies tour to England goes ahead in secure surrounding.”