Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will seek government clearance before setting up a training camp for its players. The training camp will be conducted to prepare for the tour of England in July. The PCB till now is confident that the tour will happen even though there is the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The death toll and COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Pakistan.
“Different plans are being looked at. The most important thing however, is that the board will have to get the final nod from the government. Then only it can go ahead with the tour to England or even the training camp,” a PCB official said Friday.
The High Performance Centre in Lahore is where the board is planning to keep the players and officials. It does not have the capacity to house 20 players at one time and this is causing a big headache for the officials.
“Head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq understandably wants at least 25 players in the training camp. A list of players is being finalised. However, before it is announced the board wants to create a proper bio-secure environment. This will be done so that everyone is safe from COVID-19,” the official added.
The players and officials, once they move into the high performance centre, will not be allowed to go out or meet anyone. This is due to effective implementation of the bio-security measures.
A reliable source in the PCB said some players had told Misbah that they would prefer to have a short training camp in Lahore. “Some players are reluctant to stay away for a three-week period in Lahore. Then they will again be in quarantine for more than two months in the UK. This is something which they are not ready to accept,” the source said.
The PCB has said that it has left it on the cricketers to decide whether they want to tour England or not. If anyone makes himself unavailable, there will not be any disciplinary action.
Pakistan’s former Test captain and batting great Javed Miandad has expressed apprehensions over the plan to tour England. “I would be worried because the COVID-19 situation in the UK is worse than what it is in Pakistan. I just hope the board examines everything before sending the team to England because it would be a huge risk for the players,” Miandad said.
Pakistan has reported more than 85,000 COVID-19 cases so far, while the count in the UK has crossed 2.70 lakh.
PTI