PCB to send Pakistan team to Karachi on chartered flight
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To ensure the health and safety of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, player support personnel and their families, the Pakistan Cricket Board has arranged a chartered flight that will transport them to Karachi on Tuesday afternoon. This group of 50 people on Tuesday will enter the bio-secure bubble in a local hotel.
The decision has come after Pakistan cricket team has to face a nightmarish scenario in New Zealand where a number of players and support staff tested positive after adopting a commercial flight to reach there. South African team has also reached Pakistan on a chartered plane and currently is in a bio-secure bubble and have also available with them practising facility as well at Karachi Gymkhana ground.
While the players and support staff in Karachi are already observing isolation at their homes, players from other parts of the country will arrive in Lahore later today before departing for Karachi on Tuesday where the first Test will begin on 26 January.
Upon arrival in Karachi on Tuesday, the entire group will undergo a third round of testing before they are allowed to resume training on Thursday, 21 January.
Apart from members of the Pakistan squad and their families, National High Performance coaches, Mohammad Yousuf and Saqlain Mushtaq, will also travel on the chartered flight. The two will join Grant Bradburn to follow the last leg of the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament, which concludes on 31 January.
As Pakistan squad for the three T20I series will enter the bio-secure bubble in Lahore on 3 February, the National High Performance coaches will oversee preparations of the T20I squad until the team management assumes charge following the second Test, starts in Rawalpindi on 4 February. The visit to Karachi is part of starting the preparations well in advance so that they can make the best use of the time.
Meanwhile, all the players and player support personnel have cleared their second testing, while the third tests will be conducted in Karachi on Tuesday.