Following the Covid-19 outbreak in the West Indies camp, which led to the postponement of the ODI series, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Operating Office Salman Naseer stressed that there was no breach of the biosecure bubble.
He also opined that the touring party might have contracted the virus somewhere while flying to Pakistan.
Naseer further said that the call to push the ODI series, which was scheduled from December 18 in Karachi to next year, was taken on the basis of players’ welfare and due to the fact that the touring side was left with very limited options after six of their players and other support staffs tested positive for the deadly virus.
“There’s no breach of the biosecure bubble at all,” Naseer told reporters in Karachi.
“We can’t say firmly where the players caught the virus but it seems that they caught it somewhere during travel, maybe during the transit at Dubai,” he added.
Earlier on Thursday, doubts loomed over the third and final T20I however, it later resumed as the fresh round of tests came back negative.
Notably, after the emergence of five more Covid-19 positive cases in the West Indies camp in Karachi on Thursday, the upcoming three-match ODI series between the two sides was postponed to June next year, the PCB and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had announced in a joint statement.
Issuing the statement, the two boards said: “On Thursday morning and as part of the PCB COVID-19 Protocols, Rapid Antigen tests were conducted on the remaining 15 West Indies players and six player support personnel. All 21 members of the West Indies touring party have returned negative test result. As such, Thursday’s T20 International (T20I) proceeded as planned.”
“However, taking into consideration both the teams’ welfare as well as limited resources in the West Indies side for the ODIs, it has been agreed that the series, which forms part of the ICC Men’s Cricket Word Cup Super League, will be postponed and rescheduled for early June 2022,” it added.
After the postponement of the series, the touring party, who had returned negative results following Wednesday’s PCR and today’s Rapid Antigen tests, will depart from Pakistan after Thursday’s last T2OI match while those who had tested positive will complete their isolation in Karachi before their travel arrangements are finalised.
Earlier on Thursday, West indies team Physician Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Assistant Coach Roddy Estwick and players Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein and Justin Greaves had tested positive for the deadly virus and the development took the total of positive cases in the West Indies camp to nine since their arrival in Pakistan.