Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Wasim Khan was told by the New Zealand government that one more breach of New Zealand’s Covid-19 protocols by the Pakistan squad would result in the entire travelling party being deported.
“Boys, I spoke to the New Zealand government and they told us there were three or four breaches of protocols,” Wasim Khan said in the voice note.“They have a zero-tolerance policy and they’ve given us a final warning.We understand that this is a difficult time for you, and you went through similar conditions in England.It’s not easy.But this is a matter of the nation’s respect and credibility.
Observe these 14 days and then you’ll have the freedom to go to restaurants and roam about freely.They have told me in clear terms that if we commit one more breach, they’ll send us home.”
The Pakistan squad is due to play three T20s and two Tests in New Zealand and landed in Auckland on a chartered flight with special permission obtained from the New Zealand government.They moved on to Christchurch, where they were set to undergo 14 days of strict isolation.
The arrangements, however, got off to a rocky start when six players returned positive Covid-19 tests upon landing in New Zealand; the PCB had claimed there were no positive tests in the travelling party in Lahore, from where the team flew.The six players were moved into a separate isolation facility.
