Amid the massive in in Covid-19 infections, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finalised the health and safety protocols for the upcoming seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The board has acknowledged the players and the people assocaited with the tournament in this regard.
The PCB has said that anyone who fails to follow the protocols will face five penalties depending on the nature of the violation, which includes five to 25% and 25% to 50% match fee deductions. As per the PCB, serious violations could lead to elimination from the team and the committee will have the right to impose severe punishment on different cases of violation.
The list of minor violations include several things such as not keeping a distance of six feet, sharing water bottles, kits, towels, and different items, shaking hands before or after the matches, not picking up laundry from the ground or dressing room, using isolation rooms without permission, getting physiotherapy or massages without a mask, getting physiotherapy for more than 15 minutes, etc.
On the other hand, the major violations include: Calling someone in your room apart from the maintenance staff, not wearing a mask where required, ordering something in a room without the permission of the manager of bio-secure bubble, not informing the integrity manager of your symptoms, taking medicines to reduce symptoms or to affect test results, meeting someone who has covid symptoms or is positive for the virus, telling someone else about the cases or symptoms outside the bubble.
Significantly, after the abrupt postponement of the West Indies tour of Pakistan due to the emergence of Covid-19 cases inside the secure bio-bubble, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is extra cautious for the upcoming PSL season.
In December 2021, the Covid-19 outbreak in the West Indies camp had led to the postponement of the ODI series between touring West Indies and hosts Pakistan. The ODI series will now be played in June 2022.
After the development, PCB Chief Operating Office Salman Naseer said that the recent experience has made the board extra cautious for the upcoming seventh edition of the T20 League.
“There will be players coming from different countries, from different flights. So we will have to be extra cautious,” he had told reporters in Karachi.
“We are looking to book the entire hotel during the PSL and disconnect the staff and everyone at the hotel from outside,” he had added.
Notably, the upcoming PSL season will be staged in two phases with the first one to be held in Karachi while the second and last phase will be held in Lahore. Each phase will consist of 15 matches each.
Following an opening ceremony, defending champions Multan Sultans will take on hosts and 2020 champions Karachi Kings at the National Stadium in Karachi, which will begin at 7pm PKT.
Later, 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators will face 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi on the following day.
Earlier on Wednesday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had approved 25 percent crowd attendance for the Karachi-leg of the PSL 7.
However, the NCOC had barred children under the age of 12 from entering the stadium.
However, to ensure the health and safety of all the players and the attendees, the NCOC had said that spectators’ entry will be subject to strict Covid-19 protocols.
As per the protocols, individuals above the age of 12 years must be fully vaccinated, valid vaccination certificates must be shown at the time gaining access to the stadium, wearing of masks inside the venue will be mandatory and violating the NCOC guidelines shall be liable to be evicted out of the stadium.
Meanwhile, the PCB has said that the NCOC will make a decision on the Lahore-leg matches, scheduled in the Gaddafi stadium between 10-27 February, in the coming time.